workaday

[ wur-kuh-dey ]

adjective

1. of or befitting working days; characteristic of a workday and its occupations.
2. ordinary; commonplace; everyday; prosaic.

workaday

/ ˈwɜːkəˌdeɪ /

adjective

1. being a part of general human experience; ordinary
2. suitable for working days; everyday or practical

Word History and Origins

Origin of workaday¹

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

Idris Elba cuts a dashing figure even in workaday prison stripes.

From Time

Its workaday elements—streets and sidewalks as well as subways and buses—get used, and used hard, by its citizens.

From Time

At the same time, it’s a grind for the workaday pros who play thousands upon thousands of hands, many of them drawn to Vegas after the government outlawed high-stakes poker websites.

From Washington Post

It’s purely an attempt to see if they become better at living the workaday parts of their lives when very mildly intoxicated.

From Vox

Even typically Teflon partners will melt if you apply too much heat in workaday dealings.

From The Daily Beast

But unlike most workaday reporters, Lepore is steeped in the history of the city and the American Revolution.

From The Daily Beast

And it divides an audience's attention from the quotidian, workaday world, whether at the Globe or the Delacorte.

From The Daily Beast

Very often the little ones mimic it in fun, and children's games, most times, are copies of their elders' workaday doings.

From Project Gutenberg

But, once at the stair-foot, she threw aside the spell and recovered her sensible and workaday self.

From Project Gutenberg

The summer ought not to be an entirely frivolous season, neither ought it to be too workaday.

From Project Gutenberg

Anything to give an air of gaiety to the colorless monotony of the workaday life of Lone-Rock.

From Project Gutenberg

She wore the workaday costume: a full, dark-brown skirt, the full white bodice, and a little waistcoat or corset.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• businesslike
• constructive
• down-to-earth
• efficient
• factual
• feasible
• functional
• possible
• practicable
• pragmatic
• rational
• reasonable
• sane
• sensible
• sober
• workable