ˌwhite-ˈcollar adjective1. [only before noun] white-collar workers have jobs in offices, banks etc rather than jobs working in factories, building things etc ⇒
blue-collar,
pink-collar:
white-collar jobs2. white-collar crime crimes involving white-collar workers, for example when someone secretly steals money from the organization they work for
[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲
class a group of students or schoolchildren who are taught together:
There are twenty kids in the class. She gets along well with the other children in her class. I’m going out with some friends from my dance class. 'I graduated in 1999.' 'What class were you in?'background the type of home and family you come from, and its social class:
The school takes kids from all sorts of backgrounds. We come from the same town and share a similar background. ⇒
working-class/middle-class etc background:
The organization helps children from working-class backgrounds to go to university.middle-class belonging to the class of people who are usually well educated, fairly rich, and who work in jobs which they have trained to do. For example, doctors, lawyers, and managers are middle-class:
The newspaper’s readers are mostly middle class. They live in a middle-class neighbourhood on the edge of town.white-collar someone who works in an office, not a factory, mine etc:
white-collar worker/job/employee:
The economic recession has put many white-collar workers in danger of losing their jobs.working-class belonging to the class of people who do not have much money or power, and who have jobs where they do physical work. For example, factory workers, builders, and drivers are working-class:
Most of the people who live round here are working class. I come from a working-class family – I’m the first one to graduate from college.blue-collar someone who does physical work, for example in a factory or a mine, and does not work in an office:
blue-collar worker/job/employee:
His political support comes mainly from blue-collar workers.upper-class belonging to the class of people who originally had most of the money and power, especially families that own a lot of land:
Most senior politicians in the UK are from upper-class families. He spoke with an upper-class accent.underclass the lowest social class, who are very poor and may not have jobs, homes etc:
The government has created an underclass who do not feel they have any rights in society. [TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲
white-collara white-collar worker is someone who works in an office, doing mental rather than physical work. The ratio of white-collar workers to production workers in the American manufacturing industry was declining. (always before noun)
The earnings of women in white-collar jobs are the second highest in Britain. The 1980's saw an explosion in white-collar crime. (= crimes committed by white-collar workers, especially stealing from the organization they work for)
[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲