What does "casual" mean?
A worker who is only working for a company occasionally, not as its permanent employee.
Casual
/ˈkaʒ(uː)əl/ adj, noun, slang
adj, noun, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A worker who is only working for a company occasionally, not as its permanent employee.
- Grammar: casual is listed as adj, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: everyday, superficial, abrupt, accessory.
- Useful contrasts: inveterate, academic bacteriologist, academic communities.
- Usage evidence: We ought to expect some casual visitors.
How to use "casual"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "casual" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "casual" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "casual" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "casual" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "casual" is acting as adj, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "everyday" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "casual", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A worker who is only working for a company occasionally, not as its permanent employee. Australia, British, New-Zealand
- 2 A worker who is doing a particular type of job temporarily, not as a lifetime career.
"Of the scavagers proper there are, as in all classes of unskilled labour, that is to say, of labour which requires no previous apprenticeship, and to which any one can “turn his hand” on an emergency, two distinct orders of workmen, “the regulars and casuals” to adopt the trade terms; that is to say, the labourers consist of those who have been many years at the trade, constantly employed at it, and those who have but recently taken to it as a means of obtaining a subsistence after their ordinary resources have failed."
- 3 A soldier temporarily at a place of duty, usually en route to another place of duty.
- 4 A member of a group of football hooligans who wear expensive designer clothing to avoid police attention; see casual (subculture). UK, historical
"At 15, he became a casual: one of the label-wearing, wedge-flicking, swaggering hooligan peacock boys who dominated the north-west when I was growing up. Casuals were working-class lads (called Perry boys in Manchester) who loved football, fighting and brilliant sportswear."
- 5 One who receives relief for a night in a parish to which he or she does not belong; a vagrant in the casual ward. UK, historical
"During the great prevalence of vagrancy, the cost of the sick was far greater than the expense of relief. In the quarter ending June 1848, no less than 322 casuals were under medical treatment, either in the workhouse of the Wandsworth and Clapham union or at the London Fever Hospital."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A player of casual games. derogatory, informal
"The devs dumbed the game down so the casuals could enjoy it."
- 7 A person whose engagement with media is relaxed or superficial. slang
"Casuals outnumbered regulars in the art-house audience two to one."
- 8 A tramp. British, dated
"I was a boy in 1922 or 1923, when buses first started to run between the village and the town; there were tramps, casuals as they were called; the whole pattern of my boyhood was knit into a very loaded atmosphere of human character."
- 9 Shoes suitable for everyday use, as opposed to more formal footwear. in-plural
"Next spring you’ll see more women than ever wearing “casuals” and “flats,” the shoes with the wedge heels or no heels at all."
Adjective
- 1 Happening by chance.
"They only had casual meetings."
- 2 Coming without regularity; occasional or incidental.
"The purchase of donuts was just a casual expense."
- 3 Employed irregularly.
"He was just a casual worker."
- 4 Careless.
"I removed my jacket and threw it casually over the back of the settee."
- 5 Happening or coming to pass without design.
"It was a casual sneer, obviously one of a long line. There was hatred behind it, but of a quiet, chronic type, nothing new or unduly virulent, and he was taken aback by the flicker of amazed incredulity that passed over the younger man's ravaged face."
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- 6 Informal; relaxed.
"tone in casual interactions"
- 7 Designed for informal or everyday use.
"pants in the casual wear collection"
Adjective
- 1 hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough wordnet
- 2 marked by blithe unconcern wordnet
- 3 not showing effort or strain wordnet
- 4 appropriate for ordinary or routine occasions wordnet
- 5 natural and unstudied wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 characterized by a feeling of irresponsibility wordnet
- 7 occurring or appearing or singled out by chance wordnet
- 8 without or seeming to be without plan or method; offhand wordnet
- 9 occurring on a temporary or irregular basis wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"We ought to expect some casual visitors."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "casual"?
Common synonyms include: everyday, superficial, abrupt, accessory, accidental, accidentally.
How do you use "casual" in a sentence?
We ought to expect some casual visitors.
How do you pronounce "casual"?
Pronounced /ˈkaʒ(uː)əl/.
Etymology
From Middle French casuel, from Late Latin cāsuālis (“happening by chance”), from Latin cāsus (“event”) (English case), from cadere (“to fall”) (whence English cadence).