Labor Day Word Search for the First Week of September
A Labor Day word search for the first week of school, with the 1882 parade in its word bank.
Name Date
Labor Day Word Search
Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.
0 of 16 words found
SYROIIHSSZBOLSD
TIDANEESTLABORB
HOURSHEINTSEORA
DLHRAUNIONLNUTR
YHFAFHOLIDAYDLB
OENIENFACTORYNE
OEOWTEAMWORKPMC
RHFOYYWRBNMBGUU
SGKRLIAANDPSANE
HBHKHOGNASIIHUS
AGWEEKENDFCANRQ
MWRRTUSWRENCHSO
MONDAYWUYDIGPED
EREMNUTWLICIPTA
RLRODBXFLYGIART
This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.
MONDAY
WEEKEND
HOLIDAY
PICNIC
BARBECUE
WORKER
UNION
LABOR
WAGES
HOURS
FACTORY
SAFETY
TEAMWORK
HAMMER
WRENCH
NURSE
16 of 24 words from the Labor Day Favorites list.
Tap or click the first letter of a word, then its last letter. Or drag across the word. On a touch screen, hold the first letter for a moment before you drag. On a keyboard, the arrow keys move, Enter marks the first and the last letter, and Escape clears a first letter.
BackyardThe patch of ground behind a house, where many a Labor Day cookout is held.
BarbecueFood cooked slowly over coals or on a grill, and the outdoor party that goes with it.
CelebrateTo mark a special day together with other people.
FestivalA big shared celebration. The first Labor Day plan asked for one after the march, for workers and their families.
FloatA decorated platform pulled along in a procession, often built by the members of one trade.
HammockA bed of cloth or netting hung between two trees: a good place to do nothing on a day off.
HolidayA day when schools, banks and post offices close. Labor Day has been a federal one since 1894.
MondayThe weekday Labor Day always falls on. The act of 1894 fixed it as the first one in September.
ParadeMarchers, floats and bands moving down a street. The first Labor Day, in 1882, was built around one.
PicnicA meal eaten outdoors. Peter McGuire's plan of 1882 was a street procession first and then one of these.
RelaxTo take it easy, with no alarm clock and no timetable.
Show all 100 words (89 more)
Labor Day Weekend, continued
RestA pause from work. A day of it for working people is the whole idea of the holiday.
SaleWhen stores cut their prices. Shops treat the Labor Day weekend as one of the big ones of the year.
SchoolMany districts start classes the week before Labor Day, and others wait for the Tuesday after it.
SeersuckerA thin, puckered cotton cloth for hot weather. By an old rule of dress it was put away, with white clothes, after Labor Day.
SeptemberThe month of Labor Day. The holiday is always its first Monday, so the date falls between the 1st and the 7th.
SummerPeople call Labor Day the unofficial end of it, just as Memorial Day is called the unofficial start.
TennisA major tournament is played in New York over this holiday, which falls at its midpoint.
ThanksWhat the day says to everyone whose work keeps a town running.
WeekendSaturday and Sunday. Add the Monday off and Labor Day makes it three days long.
Labor Day History 25
BillA rule that is proposed but not yet passed. New York introduced the first for Labor Day; Oregon passed one first.
BroadwayThe famous New York street that the first Labor Day procession marched up on September 5, 1882.
CanadaThis neighbor keeps the holiday on the same Monday, has done so by law since 1894, and spells it Labour Day.
ClevelandGrover, the president who signed the Labor Day act on June 28, 1894.
CongressThe lawmakers in Washington. In June 1894 they passed the act that made Labor Day a national holiday.
FederalBelonging to the national government. Labor Day has been this kind of holiday since 1894.
FerryA boat that carries people across a river. The Newark marchers reached New York on one that morning in 1882.
GompersSamuel, of the cigar makers' union, elected first president of the American Federation of Labor in 1886.
JewelerMakes and mends rings and watches. In 1882 some 200 from Newark, with their band, got the first Labor Day march started.
JuneThe month of 1894 in which the Labor Day act was passed and signed, on the 28th.
KnightsThe name taken by members of a workers' order founded in Philadelphia in 1869. Its main demand was the eight-hour day.
LawA rule made by a government. One signed on June 28, 1894 put Labor Day on the national calendar.
MaguireMatthew, a machinist and secretary of New York's Central Labor Union. Later research credits him with proposing the day.
ManhattanThe part of New York City where marchers gathered near City Hall for the first Labor Day in 1882.
MarshalThe person in charge of how a procession is arranged. In 1882 William McCabe held the job and started on time.
McGuirePeter J., a carpenters' union leader long called the father of Labor Day. One letter separates his surname from his rival's.
NewarkThe New Jersey city whose jewelers' union arrived with the band that got the first procession moving.
OregonThe first state to pass a Labor Day law, on February 21, 1887.
PerkinsFrances, Labor Secretary from 1933 to 1945, and first woman to serve in a president's cabinet.
PullmanA company town outside Chicago, now part of the city. Its railroad car builders were on strike when the 1894 act was signed.
ReservoirA lake that stores a city's water. The 1882 march ended at noon at a New York park named for one.
RooseveltFranklin D., the president who signed the 1938 act that set a minimum wage and extra pay for overtime.
TaftWilliam Howard, the president who signed the bill creating the Department of Labor on March 4, 1913.
TorontoThe Canadian city whose big labor celebration of July 22, 1882 caught Peter McGuire's attention.
TuesdayThe weekday of the very first Labor Day, September 5, 1882. The Monday rule came later.
Working People 30
ApprenticeA beginner who learns a trade by working beside a skilled person, often for several years.
BargainTo talk until both sides agree. Unions and employers do it over pay and hours.
BossThe person in charge at a workplace.
CraftSkilled work done by hand. The American Federation of Labor began in 1886 as an alliance of unions of this kind.
DignityThe respect every person deserves, whatever job they do.
EightThe hours in the workday that unions asked for. Robert Owen's slogan of 1817 gave this many each to labour, recreation and rest.
FactoryA building where goods are made by people and machines.
FairHonest and equal for everyone. Workers asked for this kind of day's pay for a day's work.
FortyThe hours in a standard American workweek. Under the 1938 act, overtime pay starts after it.
HoursWhat a workday is counted in. Around 1905 many Americans still worked 12 to 14 of them a day.
JourneymanA tradesperson who has finished training under a master and is fully qualified.
LaborWork, above all hard physical work. Canada and Britain spell the same word with a U.
LocalA union's branch in one town. Matthew Maguire was secretary of number 344, the machinists of Paterson, New Jersey.
MinimumThe least allowed. The 1938 act created this kind of wage: the lowest an employer may pay for an hour.
MovementMany people pushing together for a change. The labor one won shorter days and safer workplaces.
OvertimeHours worked beyond the normal week. The 1938 act set the pay for them at one and a half times the usual rate.
PaycheckA worker's pay for the weeks just worked, once always a slip of paper to take to the bank.
PaydayThe day wages are handed over, for many people every second Friday.
RightsJust treatment that the law promises to every person, at work as anywhere else.
SafetyBeing protected from harm. Helmets, guards on machines and marked fire exits are all part of it at work.
ShiftOne block of working time. Hospitals and factories run a day, an evening and a night one.
SixteenUnder the 1938 act, children younger than this may not work in factories or mines, or during school hours.
SkillThe ability to do something well, earned by practice.
SolidarityStanding together so that nobody stands alone. It is a favorite word of unions.
StrikeWhen workers stop work together until an agreement is reached. The Pullman one of 1894 spread to 27 states.
TeamworkA job done together, each person doing one part of it.
TradeA skilled job learned by practice, such as plumbing, welding or carpentry.
UnionWorkers who join together to ask for fair pay, safe conditions and shorter hours.
WagesMoney paid for work, usually counted by the hour.
WorkerAnyone who does a job. The holiday was made to honor every one of them.
Tools of the Trades 16
AnvilA heavy iron block on which a blacksmith hammers hot metal into shape.
BlueprintA builder's plan. The name comes from an old copying process that gave white lines on blue paper.
CraneA tall machine with a long arm that lifts heavy loads on a building site or a dock.
GlovesHand coverings. Welders wear thick leather ones against sparks and heat.
HammerA tool with a heavy head for driving nails.
HelmetA hard hat. On a building site it protects the head from anything that falls.
LadderTwo rails joined by rungs, for climbing up to a roof or a high shelf.
LoomA frame or machine for weaving thread into cloth. A textile mill held row upon row of them.
PlowA farm tool pulled through a field to turn the soil before planting.
RivetA short metal pin, hammered flat at one end, that fastens steel plates together.
ShovelA long-handled scoop for digging and moving earth, gravel or snow.
ToolboxA storage case with a handle, carried from job to job.
TrowelA mason's flat-bladed hand tool for spreading mortar between bricks.
WheelbarrowA small cart with one wheel in front and two handles behind, pushed by hand.
WhistleA factory's steam one once told a whole town when a shift began and ended.
WrenchA tool that grips and turns nuts and bolts. In Britain it is called a spanner.
Ten Jobs 9
BakerMakes bread, rolls and cakes, often starting work long before sunrise.
BuilderPuts up houses, schools and bridges.
CarpenterBuilds and repairs things made of wood. Peter McGuire led this trade's union in the 1880s.
DriverMoves people or goods by bus, truck, train or cab. Many work on the holiday itself.
FarmerGrows crops or raises animals. The work does not stop for a holiday: cows still need milking on Labor Day.
MachinistRuns the machines that cut and shape metal parts. It was Matthew Maguire's trade.
MinerDigs coal, metal ore or salt out of the ground.
NurseCares for the sick and the injured. Hospitals stay open on Labor Day, so many of them work it.
WelderJoins pieces of metal by melting them together with a very hot flame or an electric arc.
How this list was compiled: 100 Labor Day words chosen and defined for this site, in five themed lists (the long weekend, the history of the holiday from the 1882 parade to the 1894 act, the vocabulary of working people, tools of the trades, and ten jobs) plus three cross-cutting lists: 24 favorites that open the page, the 30 short words of 3 to 5 letters and the 23 long words of 8 to 11 letters. Every entry is a single word of 3 to 11 letters with no spaces, hyphens or apostrophes, so every list fits a 12 by 12 grid or larger. No clue contains its own word, because the clue replaces the word in clue mode. No brand, team, character or product name is included, and no living person: the seven people named (Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Frances Perkins, Samuel Gompers, Peter J. McGuire, Matthew Maguire) are figures of the historical record, the latest of whom died in 1965. The list names no party and no present-day organization. The jobs list is held at ten on purpose, and three of the ten (Carpenter, Machinist, Jeweler) are there because of their part in the first Labor Day. Definitions are our own wording for readers of about 7 to 12. Facts with a date, a place, a person or a number in them were checked on 2026-09-19 against: https://www.dol.gov/general/laborday/history (U.S. Department of Labor, History of Labor Day: first Monday in September; act of Congress signed by Grover Cleveland on June 28, 1894; first celebrated Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City by the Central Labor Union; New York first to introduce a bill, Oregon first to pass a law, on February 21, 1887; Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners; Matthew Maguire, machinist, secretary of the Central Labor Union and later of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, New Jersey; a street parade followed by a festival for workers and their families), https://www.dol.gov/general/laborday/history-daze (the morning of the 1882 parade: lower Manhattan near City Hall and up Broadway; Grand Marshal William McCabe started on time with few marchers; 200 marchers of the jewelers' union of Newark arrived by ferry with a band; the march ended at noon at Reservoir Park), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day (McGuire's proposal of a street parade followed by a picnic; called the unofficial end of summer, with Memorial Day the unofficial start; school districts start the week before or the Tuesday after; the midpoint of the U.S. Open tennis championships; a major sales weekend; once the last day it was thought acceptable to wear white or seersucker), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Day_(Canada) (first Monday in September, a statutory holiday since 1894; the Toronto labour celebration of July 22, 1882 attracted McGuire's attention), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pullman_Strike (May 11 to July 20, 1894; Pullman passenger cars, made near Chicago; some 250,000 workers in 27 states), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_Labor (founded in Philadelphia in 1869; primary demand the eight-hour workday), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Federation_of_Labor (founded in Columbus, Ohio, in December 1886 as an alliance of craft unions; Samuel Gompers of the Cigar Makers' International Union elected president), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-hour_day_movement (Robert Owen's slogan of 1817, eight hours' labour, eight hours' recreation, eight hours' rest; 12- to 14-hour days still common in the United States around 1905), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Labor_Standards_Act_of_1938 (signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1938; a minimum wage; time-and-a-half overtime pay beyond forty hours a week; children under sixteen may not work in mines or factories, or while school is in session), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins (Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet; died 1965) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Labor (formed March 4, 1913, by a bill William Howard Taft signed on the last day of his presidency). The two sources disagree on how many states kept the holiday by 1894 (the Department of Labor's figures add up to 31, Wikipedia says thirty), so no count of states is given. Merriam-Webster refused automated requests on 2026-09-19, so the spellings that could have been two words or hyphenated were checked on Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/) the same day: Backyard, Paycheck, Payday, Toolbox, Jeweler, Seersucker, Journeyman, Wheelbarrow, Blueprint, Teamwork, Overtime, Marshal and Trowel are main one-word headwords there. Kickoff was left out because Wiktionary gives it only as an alternative spelling of kick-off. Rechecked 2026-09-20 after the truth review: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pullman_Strike (the strike began on May 11, 1894; most of the workers had homes in Pullman, the company town next to Chicago, later annexed to the city; Labor Day was made a federal holiday during the strike), so the Pullman clue now describes the town, a place name, and not the company. The Tennis clue no longer names the tournament (the family rule: no brands). Licence: own work
How it works
Picnic, Union and Wrench share the first grid of this Labor Day word search: 16 words, across and down. The bank of 100 reaches past the cookout to the 1882 parade.
Read the full guide
Working people, tools and ten jobs
Working People has 30 words and Labor Day History 25. Tools of the Trades (16) and Ten Jobs (10) put every word in one puzzle. Second graders can take Easy Labor Day, 30 words of 3 to 5 letters such as Rest, Baker and Plow. Hard Labor Day has 23 of 8 to 11 letters, Seersucker and Journeyman among them.
What happened on the first Labor Day
It was a Tuesday: September 5, 1882, in New York. At 10 a.m. the parade had few marchers and no music, until 200 jewelers from Newark came off the ferry with a band. Two men with nearly the same surname, McGuire and Maguire, are each credited with the idea. Both are in Labor Day History.
Oregon passed the first state Labor Day law, on February 21, 1887. The clue is in Labor Day History.
After Ten Jobs, ask which of the ten still work on the holiday. Nurse, Driver and Baker start the talk.
Questions and answers
When is Labor Day, and how long has it been a holiday?
The first Monday of September, so the date falls between the 1st and the 7th. It has been a federal holiday since 1894, when President Grover Cleveland signed the act on June 28. Canada keeps Labour Day on the same Monday.
Does it print with an answer key?
Yes. Print or save as PDF makes 2 pages: the puzzle and its words under a Name and Date line, then the answer key with every word ringed. For a sheet without the line, open More options and untick Name and date line on paper.
Does the word list take a side on unions or politics?
No. Working People explains Union, Strike, Wages and Overtime in one plain line each. The bank names no party, no present-day organization and no living person. The seven people in it, Grover Cleveland and Frances Perkins among them, belong to the record before 1950.