navvy

noun

Definition of navvynext
chiefly British
as in laborer

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of navvy Several thousand navvies worked on the railway, living in makeshift camps, and many died in accidents, or from exposure and disease in the bitterly cold winters. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 3 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for navvy
  1. laborer
  2. toiler
  3. drudge
  4. grub
  5. workman
  6. jobber
  7. workingman
Noun
  • In the shrimp ponds, these landless laborers earn only a few dollars a day, with no contracts or protections.
    — Zakir Hossain Chowdhury, The Dial, 7 July 2026
  • Duties while at the firehouse included speaking with laborers and subcontractors, ordering supplies and discussions with other Good Neighbor Investors members, Mora recalled.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of laborer
Noun
  • Yet the story of the toiler turned tycoon persisted.
    — Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Definition of toiler
Noun
  • Although free labor can help a candidate win, volunteers are also seen as a source of risk, best restricted to such drudge work as phone banking or door knocking.
    — Charles Duhigg, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Workers may be hoping that AI can finally take over their drudge work in the new year—ease their loads and shorten the workweek, or at least make more space for life outside the office.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 23 Dec. 2025
Definition of drudge
Noun
  • Many birds subsist on bugs, including grubs, earthworms, and flying insects.
    — The Spruce, The Spruce, 5 July 2026
  • Gas stations have been reinventing themselves for the past decade with food offerings that rival many established grub-only chains.
    — Kevin Williams, CNBC, 2 July 2026
Definition of grub
Noun
  • The day shift also starts making factory-work jokes, with Rekha playing a perky do-bee who just wants to make the boss happy, and Lily adopting an agitator role, demanding workman’s comp and trying to spark revolt.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 16 June 2026
  • After Napoleon Dynamite, Gries landed a recurring role on Lost as Ben Linus' father, Roger, a DHARMA Initiative workman.
    — Danny Horn, Entertainment Weekly, 11 June 2026
Definition of workman
Noun
  • The installers were jobbers who worked for one of the big-box retailers.
    — Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 26 July 2025
  • Now the last-place Sox are the beleaguered jobbers taking a beating at their home park.
    — Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Aug. 2023
Definition of jobber
Noun
  • What was once a workingman’s district is now River North, a polished landscape of galleries, luxury apartments and expense-account dining.
    — David Hammond, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026
  • Company founder Leo Fender and his group of California guitar-makers debuted the Telecaster in 1951 as a durable workingman’s guitar.
    — Matthew Leimkuehler, Forbes.com, 13 May 2026
Definition of workingman

Browse Nearby Words

navvies
navvy
navy
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Navvy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/navvy. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All