1. Plural of navvy; laborers who perform manual work, especially on construction sites, roads, or railways.
Usage: chiefly British; historical

Examples

• The navvies worked long hours building the railway line across the countryside.
• During the Industrial Revolution, navvies were essential to infrastructure projects.
• The crew of navvies dug the canal by hand over several years.
• Many Irish navvies emigrated to Britain to find work on construction sites.
• The navvies lived in temporary camps near the construction site.