roustabout

noun

roust·​about ˈrau̇-stə-ˌbau̇t 

1

a

: deckhand

b

: longshoreman

2

: an unskilled or semiskilled laborer especially in an oil field or refinery

3

: a circus worker who erects and dismantles tents, cares for the grounds, and handles animals and equipment

4

: a person with no permanent home or regular occupation

also : one who stirs up trouble

Did you know?

Circus roustabouts are most commonly associated with circus animals, of course, but they also have a connection with game birds, at least in terms of etymology. "Roustabout" comes from "roust," which is an alteration of "rouse," a verb from Middle English that originally meant "to shake the feathers" (as in the way a bird might ruffle its feathers or shake its plumage when it is settling down or grooming itself). "Rouse," which today is a synonym of "awaken," also formerly meant "to cause to break from cover," a sense that may have influenced the modern meaning of "roust": "to drive (as from bed) roughly or unceremoniously."

Synonyms

• docker [chiefly British]
• dockhand
• dockworker
• longshoreman
• rouster
• stevedore

Examples of roustabout in a Sentence

sought work as a roustabout on the city's seedy waterfront

Recent Examples on the Web

West End performer Simon Bailey takes on the lead role of a modern-day showman, while newcomer Aaliya Mai makes her professional debut as Max, a shy young roustabout. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 24 Sep. 2024

The musical’s book by Rick Elice, based not just on the 2011 movie but also on the 2006 novel by Sara Gruen, is set among the performers and roustabouts of a ramshackle circus at the depths of the Depression. —Jesse Green, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024

In North Dakota, where the oil industry has been struggling to hire roustabouts to operate rigs in the region’s notoriously punishing weather, the state Petroleum Council is recruiting people across the western prairie to act as sponsors for new Ukrainian immigrants who can be put to work. —Miriam Jordan, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2023

With only an eighth-grade education — there was no high school near his isolated farm — Dad supported a family on an oil worker’s pay, rising through the ranks from roustabout to toolpusher and finally assistant foreman at Shell’s Ventura lease. —George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

roustabout

noun

roust·​about ˈrau̇-stə-ˌbau̇t 

: a person (as a deckhand, dock worker, or oil field worker) who does heavy labor