workhorse

See also: work horse

English

Alternative forms

• work horse

Etymology

From Middle English werkehorse, equivalent to work +‎ horse.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwɝkhɔɹs/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɜːkhɔːs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: work‧horse

Noun

workhorse (plural workhorses)

1. A horse used primarily for manual labor; a draft horse.

   Synonyms: (Britain, dialectal, one sense) aver, draft horse

2. (by extension) Someone or something that does a lot of work; something or someone who works consistently or regularly.

   Those old machines are not very glamorous, but even 20 years after their introduction, they are still the workhorses of the industry.

   • 2018 October 15, Phil McNulty, “Spain 2-3 England”, in BBC Sport‎:

     Captain Harry Kane was the workhorse and creator, while Sterling and Rashford provided the finishing flourishes that put England in dreamland at the interval.

   • 2023 November 1, “Network News: Strong industry interest as Positive Traction launches '08e'”, in RAIL, number 995, page 18:

     "Class 08s have been the workhorses of ports, distribution centres and depots across Britain's railway for more than 60 years," said Positive Traction Director Alistair Gregory.

Translations

horse used primarily for work

Azerbaijani: işlək at Bashkir: эш аты (eş atı) Danish: arbejdshest c Dutch: werkpaard (nl) Finnish: työhevonen (fi) German: Arbeitspferd (de) n Hungarian: igásló (hu) Icelandic: klár (is) m Ingrian: tööhepoin Irish: capall oibre m Norwegian: Bokmål: arbeidshest m Nynorsk: arbeidshest m Romanian: cal de tracțiune m Russian: тя́гловая ло́шадь f (tjáglovaja lóšadʹ), ломова́я ло́шадь (ru) f (lomovája lóšadʹ) Spanish: caballo de tiro m, caballo trabajador m, caballo breteador m Swedish: arbetshäst (sv)

anyone that does a lot of work

Danish: arbejdshest c Dutch: werkpaard (nl) n Finnish: työjuhta French: bourreau de travail (fr) German: Arbeitstier (de) n Icelandic: (to be a real workhorse) víkingur til vinnu m, (to be a real workhorse) hamhleypa til vinnu m Norwegian: Bokmål: arbeidshest m Nynorsk: arbeidshest m Polish: wół roboczy m (literally “labor bullock”) Russian: ломова́я ло́шадь (ru) f (lomovája lóšadʹ), стаха́новец (ru) m (staxánovec) (Stakhanovite) Spanish: chambeador m, chambero m

See also

• powerhouse
• warhorse
• wheelhorse
• yardhorse

Further reading

• “workhorse”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.