Meaning & use
keyworker
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableBritish
A worker whose job is considered essential to society, such as a doctor, nurse, teacher, or delivery driver.
Grammar: Use it for one person; the plural is keyworkers. Often used with the: support for keyworkers.
Patterns
- a keyworker in something
- keyworkers and their families
The government promised extra pay for keyworkers during the crisis.
Nurses, teachers, and bus drivers were all classed as keyworkers.
Many keyworkers cannot work from home.
nouncountableBritish
A person employed to give individual support and advice to someone receiving social care or training.
Grammar: Countable; often followed by for: a keyworker for young people leaving care.
Patterns
- a keyworker for someone
- somebody's keyworker
Each resident is assigned a keyworker who helps them plan their goals.
My keyworker at the hostel helped me find a job.
She meets her keyworker once a week to talk about her progress.
Word forms
| plural | keyworkers |
|---|
Common combinations
- keyworker housing
- The city built keyworker housing near the hospital.
- keyworker status
- Only staff with keyworker status could enter the building.
- a keyworker scheme
- The company runs a keyworker scheme for new graduates.
- essential keyworker
- Cleaners were finally recognized as essential keyworkers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- essential worker
- The usual American term for the same idea; use it in US contexts.
- frontline worker
- Emphasizes direct contact with the public or danger, not just importance to society.
Word family
- key worker noun
- The two-word British spelling of the same term.
- keyworking noun
- The practice of providing individual support as a keyworker.
Commonly confused: keyworker or coworker?
keyworker vs coworker
A coworker is simply someone you work with; a keyworker is essential to society or assigned to support someone.
Practice
In British English, which sentence uses keyworker correctly?
Choose one answer.
A keyworker is a person, so we say 'a keyworker at' a place. 'Of' suggests possession, which is wrong here; the zero article is ungrammatical for a countable noun; and 'the keyworker for' would mean she is the assigned support person for the hospital itself.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “keyworker”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.