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fellow worker

fellow worker

7 2.0
A person who works with you in the same company or team
  • noun
  • /ˈfɛloʊ ˈwɜrkər/
translation icon : compañero de trabajo
  • Just imagine if the place where you worked was run by you and your fellow workers.
  • friends and fellow workers

He is a fellow worker with you, you know, And so he's, he's rebutting this and he's like, people are cruel to slaves because they can be.

Examples

  • Do people understand how their fellow workers interface with their jobs?

    Academic text (2005)
  • I am immensely grateful to my Maker and all of my fellow workers.

    Blog text (17)
  • My father attempted to spread the word among fellow workers during his lunch break.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Come out to your neighbors, come out to your fellow workers.

  • And I urge you, fellow workers to band together with us.

  • Here we are, side by side, fellow workers in the vineyard.

  • We all feel we are losing a splendid fellow worker... ...and we certainly wish you the luck which you so rightfully deserve.

  • My friends and fellow workers, in the great adventure of space, I have the most important news to announce since our first successful landing on the moon 20 years ago.

  • Isolation from a community of fellow workers can contribute to the difficulties that workers confront.

    Academic text (1992)
  • My father attempted to spread the word among fellow workers during his lunch break.

Synonyms

colleague
vsfellow worker
892 2.3

A person you work with at the same job or company

emphasizes working in the same organization or job rather than profession
workmate
vsfellow worker
  • UK
2 2.2

A person who has a job at the same office or company as you

focuses on working in the same organization or job more generally
confrere
vsfellow worker
  • Formal
1 9.3

A person who works in the same profession

is the everyday term for working together rather than formal membership
officemate
vsfellow worker
  • Informal
1 3.5

A person who works in the same office as you

is broader covering working in the same organization rather than the same office
compañero
vsfellow worker
1 8.5

A person who works with you at the same place

means the same but highlights Spanish language use rather than neutral English
workfellow
vsfellow worker
  • Archaic
5.1

A person who does the same job as you

stresses being in the same organization or job rather than other connections
co-worker
vsfellow worker
1.8

A person who works with you in the same company or team

refers to working together not specifically implying same rank or position
cow-orker
vsfellow worker
  • Informal
8.8

A way to call someone you work with as a joke

is the standard term without playful spelling or joking tone

How Close

partner
1.4
teammate
269 1.6
fellow worker
7 2.0

Surface Forms

fellow worker singular

Morphology

fellow + worker

The meaning 'a person who works with you' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'fellow' (a person of the same group) with 'worker' (a person employed to do work). This straightforward compounding pattern matches common equivalents in many languages (e.g., coworker/colleague), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The phrase fellow worker comes from joining fellow, which meant 'a companion' who shares a place or group, and worker, which meant 'someone who does a job'; picture people working side by side and sharing tasks. So, fellow worker means 'a person who works with you'.