roustabout

UK: /ˈraʊstəbaʊt/ US: (roust′ə bout′)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

roust•a•bout  (roust′ə bout′), n. 

1. a wharf laborer or deck hand, as on the Mississippi River.
2. an unskilled laborer who lives by odd jobs.
3. a circus laborer who helps in setting up and taking down the tents and in caring for the animals, equipment, and grounds.
4. any unskilled laborer working in an oil field. Cf. roughneck (def. 2).

• roust + about 1865–70, American.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

roustabout / ˈraʊstəˌbaʊt/ noun

1. an unskilled labourer on an oil rig
2. 
   another word for rouseabout