labourer

labourer — noun

1. a person who earns money by doing hard physical tasks that do not require specia

1.nounB1
Definition

a person who earns money by doing hard physical tasks that do not require special training, often in outdoor settings such as farms, building sites, or factories

Example

The construction site hired several labourers to carry bricks and mix cement.

collocation: construction labourer

Hana worked as a summer labourer on a farm, picking fruit and repairing fences.

collocation: labourer on a farm

Common collocations
  • hire a labourer
  • casual labourer
  • migrant labourer
  • construction labourer
  • farm labourer
  • labourer on a building site
Synonyms
  • worker

    broader term that includes any employed person, not only manual workers

  • manual worker

    emphasises use of hands and physical effort rather than mental work

  • working man

    informal; refers to someone who earns a living through physical work

Antonyms
  • professional

    someone whose job requires advanced education or training

  • skilled worker

    a worker who has learned a trade through formal training or apprenticeship

Usage Note

Often contrasted with 'skilled worker' or 'craftsperson', who have received specialised training. The US spelling is 'laborer'.

Common Mistakes

My uncle is a labourer in a hospital.
My uncle is a labourer on a construction site.
Labourers do physical manual work, not hospital or office jobs.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Labourer', 'worker', 'employee', 'hand', and 'operative' all refer to people who work, but they differ in scope and register. 'Worker' is the broadest term — it covers anyone who works, whether in an office, a factory, or a field. 'Employee' adds the idea of being hired by a specific employer under a formal arrangement. 'Labourer' is narrower: it specifically means someone whose job involves hard physical work without requiring special training. 'Hand' is an informal term used mainly in farming contexts ('a farm hand'), while 'operative' is more formal and often appears in manufacturing or industrial settings ('a machine operative'). For example, a person digging ditches is a labourer, not an operative; someone running a factory robot is an operative but not a labourer.

labourer ↗worker ↗employee ↗hand ↗operative ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • day labourer
  • casual labourer
  • migrant labourer
  • farm labourer

Prepositions

  • labourer in
  • labourer on
  • labourer at

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'labourer' entered English in the 14th century. It comes from the Latin noun 'labor', meaning 'work' or 'toil', via the Old French verb 'labourer' (to work the land). In Middle English, 'labourer' referred to anyone performing heavy physical work, and the meaning has remained essentially the same ever since.