gig worker

noun

plural gig workers

: a person who works temporary jobs typically in the service sector as an independent contractor or freelancer : a worker in the gig economy

Gig workers have freedoms that most full-timers only dream of: setting their own hours, working from home, being their own bosses. No wonder the gig economy comprised 16 percent of all workers by 2015, according to research by economists Lawrence Katz and Alan Krueger.

—Andy Sullivan

In addition to having more stable space, the affluent often have greater latitude to remain inside it. They can work on Zoom, shop on Amazon and have gig workers deliver meals.

—Jason DeParle

Examples of gig worker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Advocate for policies that recognize and respect the contributions of gig workers in the economy. —Julia Korn, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025

Kevin Erickson, the director of the Future of Music Coalition, a nonprofit music policy group in Washington, D.C., contrasts this with the situation faced by some other kinds of gig workers. —Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 6 Feb. 2025

But requests to do away with the red carpet as usual are alarming the throngs of gig workers who ready stars for the dozens of events that typically take place during the three-month awards season. —Laurie Brookins, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Feb. 2025

Makeup artists are alienated gig workers who often have nothing to fall back on in case of a slow day, and Chantelle would have been no different without her extensive support system of family and friends. —Grace Butler, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2009, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gig worker

• caseworker
• coworker
• farmworker
• woodworker