French word

main-d'œuvre

Pronunciation

IPA/mɛ̃dœvʁ/

Meaning

  • feminine nounworkers

Example

Pour la fête, on cherche de la main-d'œuvre pour l'installation.

For the festival, they are looking for workers for the setup.

Illustration for main-d'œuvre (workers)

More examples

L'entreprise souffre d'un manque de main-d'œuvre cet été.

The company is suffering from a labor shortage this summer.

Core concept

A pool of working hands available to carry out a job at a site, company, or project.

Common phrases

  • manque de main-d'œuvre

    labor shortage

  • main-d'œuvre qualifiée

    skilled labor

Similar words

personnel: All the staff working for a company or organization.
employé: A paid worker employed by a company or shop.
ouvrier: A person who does physical work in a factory or on a construction site.
effectif: The number of active workers in an organization or team.

Definition in French

Force de travail constituée par les personnes employées ou mobilisables pour accomplir des tâches dans une entreprise, un chantier ou un projet.

Word origin

Main-d'œuvre combines main, from Latin manus meaning 'hand', with œuvre, from Latin opera meaning 'work', and came to denote workers available for a task.

Usage tips

  • Main-d'œuvre is feminine, so standard forms include la main-d'œuvre, de la main-d'œuvre, and cette main-d'œuvre.

Other meanings

  • labor forcenoun

Word lists with this word