Literally, a workhorse is a horse kept for pulling and carrying rather than for racing or riding for pleasure — a strong, plain, patient animal. Almost all modern use is figurative, and it keeps every one of those qualities.

Literally照字面來說, a workhorse workhorse is a horse kept for pulling and carrying是一匹養來拉車、載重的馬 rather than for racing or riding for pleasure而不是用來比賽或騎乘玩樂的 — a strong, plain, patient animal是一種強壯、樸實、有耐性的動物。Almost all modern use現代幾乎所有的用法 is figurative都是比喻的, and it keeps every one of those qualities而且保留了那些特質的每一項。

A workhorse is the person, machine, or vehicle that does the steady, heavy, unglamorous work day after day without breaking down and without being noticed. An old delivery van that has run 400,000 kilometres is the workhorse of the fleet; a plain reliable engine is the workhorse of the range; the quiet colleague who handles all the boring cases is the workhorse of the team.

A workhorse workhorse 指的是 is the person, machine, or vehicle那個人、機器或車輛 that does the steady, heavy, unglamorous work day after day日復一日做著穩定、繁重、不起眼的工作 without breaking down and without being noticed不會故障也不太被注意到。An old delivery van that has run 400,000 kilometres一台已經跑了四十萬公里的老送貨車 is the workhorse of the fleet就是這個車隊的 workhorse; a plain reliable engine一具樸實可靠的引擎 is the workhorse of the range是這個系列裡的 workhorse; the quiet colleague who handles all the boring cases那個默默處理所有無聊案子的同事 is the workhorse of the team就是團隊裡的 workhorse。

The word is genuinely respectful — it praises reliability and endurance. But it does have a small shadow: workhorses are not admired for beauty or brilliance, and calling a person a workhorse can quietly mean "not the star." People often set it against words like showpiece, star, or thoroughbred.

The word這個字 is genuinely respectful是真心帶著敬意的 — it praises reliability and endurance稱讚的是可靠和耐力。But不過, it does have a small shadow它也帶有一點小陰影: workhorses are not admired for beauty or brilliance workhorse 不會因為美麗或耀眼被讚美, and calling a person a workhorse而稱一個人是 workhorse can quietly mean "not the star."暗暗地也可能意味著「不是那個明星」。People often set it against words like showpiece, star, or thoroughbred人們常常拿它跟 showpiece（樣板）、star（明星）、thoroughbred（純種）這類字對比。

It is a common, plain word, at home in news, business, and everyday talk, and often used as workhorse of the ___.

It is a common, plain word這是個常見、樸實的字, at home in news, business, and everyday talk在新聞、商業和日常對話裡都很自然, and often used as常用作 workhorse of the ___「workhorse of the ___」這樣的句型。