black-collar

adj

"black-collar" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“black-collar” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or pertaining to employment in the black market; that is, to engagement in illicit trade or distribution of untaxed goods and services.

Corpus desk

Index EN-black-collar · black-collar · English

black-collar · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for black-collar
PropertyValue
Headwordblack-collar
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “black-collar” in English

black-collarfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

black-collar is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for black-collar in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From black market and -collar. The correct English form is black-collar, spelled B-L-A-C-K---C-O-L-L-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to employment in the black market; that is, to engagement in illicit trade or distribution of untaxed goods and services.
  2. 2
    Relating to creative work.
  3. 3
    Relating to coalminers and oil workers.
  4. 4
    Relating to the clergy.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how black-collar appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Rewards necessarily drop for the former — not only because their numbers increase relatively but also because their output per man-hour does not rise as rapidly as that of the black-collar worker.
  2. What attitudes, types of ideas and particular experiences would lead a "blue collar worker" to perceive the evidence of the defendant's guilt differently than a white, pink or black collar worker?

Etymology

From black market and -collar.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "black-collar"?
"black-collar" is spelled B-L-A-C-K---C-O-L-L-A-R.
What does "black-collar" mean?
As an adjective, "black-collar" means: Of or pertaining to employment in the black market; that is, to engagement in illicit trade or distribution of untaxed goods and services.
What is the origin of the word "black-collar"?
From black market and -collar. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list