blue collar
Factory worker type
Blue collar describes work involving manual labor, or the workers who do it: blue-collar jobs, blue-collar workers, a blue-collar town.
The term evokes factory floors, construction sites, and trades—work where you might wear a durable shirt that doesn't show grime.
It contrasts with white collar, which describes office and professional work.
Strenuous, prolonged effort
- sweatMoisture from skin pores
- exertionVigorous physical effort
- gruelingExtremely tiring and demanding
- backbreakingExtremely physically demanding
strenuous · long hours · hard work · grit · endurance · fatigue · paycheck · hourly wage
Skill in making objects
- hands-onInvolving direct physical engagement
- toolbeltWaist-worn carrier for implements
- workbenchCraftsman's heavy-duty surface
- wrenchTool for turning fasteners
hammer · drill · calloused · apprenticeship · journeyman · handiwork · repair · installation
Wiring installation specialist
- plumberWater system tradesperson
- welderOne who fuses metals
- carpenterTimber construction tradesperson
- mechanicVehicle maintenance professional
mason · machinist · roofer · painter · pipefitter · ironworker · millwright · boilermaker
Industrial production facility
- manufacturingIndustrial product creation
- assembly lineSequential workstation manufacturing
- plantBotanical organism
- warehouseBulk goods storage building
mill · foundry · shipyard · refinery · mining · forklift · conveyor · production
toil
Strenuous, prolonged effort
backbreaking · strenuous · long hours · hard work · grit · endurance · fatigue · paycheck · hourly wage · working class
craftsmanship
Skill in making objects
- hands-onInvolving direct physical engagement
- toolbeltWaist-worn carrier for implements
- workbenchCraftsman's heavy-duty surface
wrench · hammer · drill · calloused · apprenticeship · journeyman · handiwork · repair · installation · construction
electrician
Wiring installation specialist
mechanic · mason · machinist · roofer · painter · pipefitter · ironworker · millwright · boilermaker · glazier
factory
Industrial production facility
- manufacturingIndustrial product creation
- assembly lineSequential workstation manufacturing
- plantBotanical organism
warehouse · mill · foundry · shipyard · refinery · mining · forklift · conveyor · production · shift work
- blue-collarlaborer, factory worker, construction worker, manual labor, hard hat
- metonymsWall Street, Hollywood, the Kremlin, Capitol Hill, Downing Street
- work attirebusiness casual, formal attire, smart casual, casual Friday, power suit
- workjob, 9 to 5, jobs, labor, employee
- workersworkers, employee, employees, laborer, laborers
- careersdoctor, lawyer, teacher, engineer, nurse
blue collarwhite collar
Office worker category
professional · executive · managerial · office worker · corporate
blue collarupper class
Wealthiest societal stratum
elite · privileged · bourgeois · country club · Ivy League
blue, collar, collared, bluer, blue-collar, white-collar, blueness, bluest, blueish