out of work

Idioms

Unemployed; also, having no work to do. For example, He lost his job a year ago and has been out of work ever since, or They don't give her enough assignments—she's always out of work. Shakespeare used this expression in Henry V (1:2): “All out of work and cold for action.”

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.

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out of work

For example, more than a third of people out of work in the professional-services sector have been unemployed for six months or more, federal data show.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Twin Temple, composed of married couple Alexandra and Zachary James, weren’t out of work for long.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

“You are the one out of work and not building up savings and retirement.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

It’s even worse for those out of work, as Abernathy discovered.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026

With war rationing on top of both parents now being out of work, we hadn’t eaten like this for months.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

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