roustabout

[ roust-uh-bout ]

noun

1. a wharf laborer or deck hand, as on the Mississippi River.
2. an unskilled laborer who lives by odd jobs.
3. a circus laborer who helps in setting up and taking down the tents and in caring for the animals, equipment, and grounds.
4. any unskilled laborer working in an oil field. Compare roughneck ( def 2 ).

roustabout

/ ˈraʊstəˌbaʊt /

noun

1. an unskilled labourer on an oil rig
2. another word for rouseabout
3. a labourer in a circus or fairground

Word History and Origins

Origin of roustabout¹

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; roust + about

Example Sentences

But the roustabout Hal’s dawning maturity costs him the companion he once held dear.

From New York Times

I spoke to prison guards who patrolled the wards of violent penitentiaries, undocumented immigrants who toiled on the “kill floors” of industrial slaughterhouses and roustabouts who worked on offshore rigs in the fossil-fuel industry.

From New York Times

As a former construction worker, he had the foundation, with some additional training, to begin working as a roustabout, assembling and repairing equipment in the offshore oil industry two years ago.

From Seattle Times

His character is a janitor and general roustabout, angling for a spot in the show.

From New York Times

Mr. Duncan liked to joke that his only previous experience in the oil industry was working a few weeks in Texas rigs as a low-rung laborer known as roustabout.

From Washington Post