Standard Lemma guide

dockworker

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: D AA1 K W ER2 K ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A person who works on the dock of a harbor or shipyard, usually employed to load or unload freight.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: docker, stevedore, longshoreman, wharfie

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tradesperson, laborer, worker, person

2

noun

Meaning 2

a laborer who loads and unloads vessels in a port

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: stevedore, loader, longshoreman, docker, dockhand, dock worker, dock-walloper, lumper

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: laborer, manual laborer, labourer, jack

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English dock Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom Proto-Germanic *werką Proto-West Germanic *werk Old English weorc Middle English werk Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere Middle English werkere, worcher, wercher English worker English dockworker From dock + worker.

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: до́кер (dóker) — worker at a dock
  • Chinese Mandarin: 碼頭工人 /码头工人 (mǎtou gōngrén) — worker at a dock
  • Czech: dokař — worker at a dock
  • Finnish: satamatyöntekijä — worker at a dock
  • Finnish: satamatyöläinen — worker at a dock
  • Finnish: ahtaaja — worker at a dock
  • French: docker — worker at a dock
  • German: Hafenarbeiter — worker at a dock
  • Irish: dugaire — worker at a dock
  • Italian: stivatore — worker at a dock
  • Japanese: 港湾労働者 (kōwan rōdōsha) — worker at a dock
  • Macedonian: докер (doker) — worker at a dock
  • Polish: portowiec — worker at a dock
  • Polish: doker — worker at a dock
  • Portuguese: estivador — worker at a dock
  • Romanian: docher — worker at a dock
  • Russian: до́кер (dóker) — worker at a dock
  • Russian: порто́вый рабо́чий (portóvyj rabóčij) — worker at a dock
  • Russian: порто́вый гру́зчик (portóvyj grúzčik) — worker at a dock
  • Swedish: hamnarbetare — worker at a dock
  • Vietnamese: khuân vác — worker at a dock