workforce

noun

work·​force ˈwərk-ˌfȯrs 

1

: the workers engaged in a specific activity or enterprise

the factory's workforce

2

: the number of workers potentially assignable for any purpose

the nation's workforce

Synonyms of workforce

• staff
• manpower
• personnel
• pool

Examples of workforce in a Sentence

We have a workforce of 2,400 people.

the office's entire workforce is devoted to a single project right now

Recent Examples on the Web

In September, Uber announced plans to cut about 3,300 corporate jobs, as well as scale down its remote workforce and tighten in-office rules. — Jennifer Liu, CNBC, 4 Oct. 2026

This support has been especially necessary as Lechner said Shawnee’s Forest Service has faced staffing and budget cuts, like the rest of the nation’s public lands workforce. — Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026

In its base case, about 11 million workers, roughly 7% of the workforce, would need to leave their occupations entirely, with a range of 6 million to 16 million. — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2026

The discovery is the latest instance of CDE leadership telling employees bedbugs are not in the building, only for more to be discovered at a later date and igniting doubt among CDE’s workforce on whether treatment is effective. — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for workforce

• concourse
• divorce
• endorse
• enforce
• indorse
• midcourse
• outsource
• perforce
• racehorse
• remorse
• seahorse
• workhorse

Kids Definition

workforce

noun

work·​force ˈwərk-ˌfō(ə)rs 

-ˌfȯ(ə)rs

: the workers of a specific activity or business

the factory's workforce