workman
/ˈwəːkmən
/noun (plural workmen)
1A man employed to do manual labour.The tide had reached the ship, and now the workmen labouring about the hull were ankle deep in water....
- Shipwrights now required a labour force of workmen with a different set of skills who could saw to length and fit a ship together according to plan.
- One by one the quarries closed and the workmen were forced to find other employment.
Synonyms
worker, manual worker, labourer, hand, operative, operator;
employee;
journeyman, artisan;
Indian maistry
1.1 [with adjective] A person with specified skill in a job or craft: you check it through, like all good workmen do...
- The gearbox had to be removed and, as no spare part was readily available and we wanted to get home to Tyrone, the clutch arm had to be welded up and ground to size by a very skilled workman.
- I have no idea what he would have made of his pupil, but he's a really good workman with a delicate sense of lyricism.
- If there is a bad set of specifications and a bad set of materials no good workman can fix the problem, because it is intrinsically defective.
Phrases
a bad workman always blames his tools