workaday
Americanadjective
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of or befitting working days; characteristic of a workday and its occupations.
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ordinary; commonplace; everyday; prosaic.
adjective
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being a part of general human experience; ordinary
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suitable for working days; everyday or practical
Etymology
Origin of workaday
1150–1200; alteration (probably after nowadays ) of earlier worky-day workday, alteration (by association with holiday ) of Middle English werkeday, obscurely derived from work and day
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But as chipmakers prioritise the lucrative AI industry, they are producing fewer of the more workaday chips used in everyday consumer electronics like phones and laptops, pushing up device prices.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
B.J. in 2009 Los Angeles drumming at a live-band karaoke night with a group of fellow workaday musicians played by his real-life backers, Free Nationals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
Mr. McGuane’s hapless heroes are local politicians, insurance salesmen, small-town lawyers and other workaday hustlers intent on “getting somewhere among people going nowhere.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
This fundamentally misunderstands the appeal of conspiracies, though, which is that it’s more fun and exciting to believe in them instead of in workaday truths.
From Slate ● May 24, 2025
It was in striking contrast to the messy reality of the workaday world.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.