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Synonyms

unemployed

American  
[uhn-em-ploid] / ˌʌn ɛmˈplɔɪd /

adjective

  1. not employed; without a job; out of work.

    an unemployed secretary.
    Synonyms:
    jobless, at liberty, idle, unoccupied

  2. not currently in use.

    unemployed productive capacity.

  3. not productively used.

    unemployed capital.

noun

(used with a plural verb)

  1. people who do not have jobs.

    programs to help the unemployed.
unemployed British  
/ ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪd /

adjective

    1. without remunerative employment; out of work

    2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      the unemployed

  2. not being used; idle

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does unemployed mean? Unemployed means not having a paid job—not being employed.A person who’s described as unemployed is typically out of work and looking for a job. A person who’s retired, for example, wouldn’t be said to be unemployed.Unemployed is sometimes used to refer to unemployed people collectively, as in These programs are intended to help the unemployed. The state of being unemployed is unemployment. The opposite of this is employment.The verb employ also means to use, and unemployed can be used to mean unused, as in We shouldn’t let these resources go unemployed. Example: I was unemployed for a long time before I was recruited in Greenland by someone who finally saw my strengths.

Etymology

Origin of unemployed

First recorded in 1590–1600; un- 1 + employ + -ed 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The latest data shows 700,000 graduates are unemployed and claiming benefits and Diss says her case suggests they require a different sort of help.

From BBC

Kelvin Karume, 22, who is currently unemployed and says he is trying to build an online presence as a content creator in Nairobi, says he found the videos on a Russian YouTube channel.

From BBC

Advances in robotics present new possibilities for medicine, but also portend a system that could leave millions of its human workers unemployed.

From The Wall Street Journal

‘I don’t own a home’: I’m 62, unemployed and have $1.5 million for retirement.

From MarketWatch

Suranovas was officially unemployed when he was arrested by armed police.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.