Luddites

[ (lud-eyets) ]


Opponents of the introduction of labor-saving machinery. The original Luddites, followers of a legendary Ned Ludd, were British laborers of the early nineteenth century who smashed textile-making machines that threatened their jobs.

Notes for Luddites

Contemporary opponents of technological change are sometimes called “Luddites.”

Words Nearby Luddites

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

How to use Luddites in a sentence

  • Graedon comes down firmly on the side of the Luddites, but her vision of the future is less alarmist than alarmingly within reach.

  • Paul Krugman has a column today on a topic you don't normally get much of from economists:  sympathy for the Luddites.

    When Work Disappears | Megan McArdle | June 14, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Among the numerous manufacturers whose works were attacked by the Luddites, was the inventor of the bobbin-net machine himself.

    Self-Help | Samuel Smiles
  • Bill had dropped in, and they sat talking of the doings of the Luddites till it was later than usual.

    Through the Fray | G. A. Henty
  • I suppose it will not be for very long, for I expect that we shall not hear very much more of the Luddites.

    Through the Fray | G. A. Henty