Meaning & use
hard-worker
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Meaning
nouncountable
a person who puts a lot of effort and energy into their job or duties
Grammar: Countable: a hard-worker, two hard-workers. Often used with be or become.
Patterns
- be a hard-worker
- a hard-worker at something
She's a real hard-worker and never leaves a task unfinished.
The team needs hard-workers who can stay calm under pressure.
He was known as a hard-worker even in his first job.
Word forms
| plural | hard-workers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a real hard-worker
- My sister is a real hard-worker; she never gives up.
- be known as a hard-worker
- She is known as a hard-worker in every department.
- a hard-worker with a good attitude
- Employers want hard-workers with a good attitude.
- a hard-working student
- He is a hard-working student, but he also needs rest.
Synonyms and how they differ
- workaholic
- Workaholic is stronger and often disapproving: it suggests someone who cannot stop working, while hard-worker is usually positive.
- grafter
- Grafter is informal British English and means someone who works hard physically or steadily.
- high achiever
- A high achiever gets excellent results; a hard-worker may work hard without always getting the best results.
Opposites
Word family
- hard-working adjective
- describing someone who works with a lot of effort
- hard work noun
- effortful work; the activity, not the person
- work hard verb
- to put a lot of effort into work
Commonly confused: hard-worker or hardworking?
hard-worker vs hardworking
Hardworking is an adjective (a hardworking person), while hard-worker is a noun (she is a hard-worker).
Practice
Which sentence uses hard-worker correctly?
Choose one answer.
A hard-worker is a countable noun, so it needs a/an: a hard-worker. Option 2 misses the article; option 3 uses the adjective hard-working where a noun is needed; option 4 uses hard-worker as a verb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hard-worker”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.