furlough

American  

[fur-loh] / ˈfɜr loʊ /

noun

furloughs plural

1. Military. a vacation or leave of absence granted to an enlisted person.

2. a usually temporary layoff from work.

   Many plant workers have been forced to go on furlough.

3. a temporary leave of absence authorized for a prisoner from a penitentiary.

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verb (used with object)

furloughs, present (3rd person singular) furloughed, past participle, past furloughing present participle

1. to grant a furlough to.

2. to lay (an employee or worker) off from work, usually temporarily.

furlough British  

/ ˈfɜːləʊ /

noun

1. leave of absence from military duty

2. a temporary laying-off of employees, usually because there is insufficient work to occupy them

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verb

1. to grant a furlough to

2. to lay off (staff) temporarily

Usage

What’s the difference between furlough and layoff? A furlough is a temporary release of a worker from their job, typically with the expectation that they will be asked to return. A layoff is usually a permanent removal from a job. Both words can also be used as verbs. An organization can furlough employees or lay off employees. The adjective forms are furloughed and laid off. A furlough typically involves an employer requiring an employee to stop working for a period of time during which they will not get paid—though furloughed workers sometimes keep their benefits, such as health insurance. Furloughs can happen during government shutdowns or when a company does not need certain employees for a certain period of time but expects to need them back after that period ends. The word layoff is typically used in the context of a company permanently letting go workers due to economic reasons (such as not being able to afford to pay them) as opposed to performance reasons (employees let go for poor performance are typically said to have been fired). Here’s an example of furlough and layoff used correctly in a sentence. Example: A furlough is not ideal, but at least it’s temporary—the company is doing it to avoid layoffs. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between furlough and layoff.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prefurlough
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• furloughs
  plural

Participles

• furloughing
  present
• furloughed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• furlough
  simple
• furloughs
  simple
• have furloughed
  perfect
• has furloughed
  perfect
• am furloughing
  progressive
• are furloughing
  progressive
• is furloughing
  progressive
• have been furloughing
  perfect progressive
• has been furloughing
  perfect progressive

Past

• furloughed
  simple
• had furloughed
  perfect
• was furloughing
  progressive
• were furloughing
  progressive
• had been furloughing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will furlough
  simple
• will have furloughed
  perfect
• will be furloughing
  progressive
• will have been furloughing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of furlough

First recorded in 1615–25; variant of earlier furloff, furlogh, from Dutch verlof “dismissal, permission to leave,” appparently from Middle Low German vorlōf, noun derivative of vorlöven “to permit (to leave),” blend of vor- for- and erlöven “to allow, permit” ( see a- ³ ( def. ), leave ² ( def. )); cognate with German erlauben, verlauben, Gothic uslaubjan, Old English ālīefan “to allow, permit”; current pronunciation by association with dough, etc.

Explanation

Furlough started as a word for time off from military duty. It spread from there to other types of time off, including an employer furloughing (or laying off) employees. If you're in the military — a pretty tough job — you're probably looking forward to a furlough. That's a leave of absence or bit of time off, kind of like a break or vacation. That kind of a furlough is a great chance for some rest and relaxation. Outside the military, to furlough still means to grant a leave of absence to someone, but often it's a permanent vacation: if your boss furloughed you, he fired you.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

furlough furloughs furloughed furloughing

Companies that halt or reduce operations because of dangerous heat waves can now access state-backed furlough support.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

The budget plan also includes seven unpaid furlough days over the three-year period, which would have to be negotiated with the union.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

“This could result in the use of the Reserve Fund and in future fiscal years, more furlough days and the risk of more layoffs.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

The move comes six months after the Scottish government announced a £4m furlough scheme aimed at saving the company's operations in Scotland.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026

Sixth Cavalry on temporary furlough to become actors in Colonel Cody’s show.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Back then, widespread layoffs and furloughs pushed some people to go into business for themselves, while others were emboldened to quit working for The Man during an office hiatus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026

Further strains resulting from furloughs would compound the issues, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 30, 2026

Some park employees said the furloughs have compounded stressors from firings, retirements and buyouts over the last year or so.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025

Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to discuss the furloughs and shutdown during a news conference in Nevada on Monday.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2025

Our veteran furloughs having expired, we reported to General Leggett, at Cairo, Illinois, who sent me to Clifton, Tennessee, to report to General M. F. Force for duty.

From Four Years A Scout and Spy by Downs, E. C.

When the Covid pandemic emptied hotels in 2020, the properties furloughed 90% of their workers.

From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026

Economists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics were not able to collect all the usual price data in October and November because they were furloughed and unable to work.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 10, 2026

The company furloughed the majority of its employees, shuttered its operations and filed for bankruptcy the following month, according to the indictment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2026

She and other furloughed Cubans will receive their salary for one more month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026

These were furloughed for ten days, when they returned to camp, bringing with them enough recruits to swell the number to a maximum.

From The history of Company C, Seventh Regiment, O.V.I by Wilder, Theodore

Even if there is a shutdown, Marcus expects that most tax-return processing will continue and that the IRS will avoid furloughing workers.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 26, 2026

SSA initially kept only 4,780 employees to ensure benefit payments, furloughing 61,415 workers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025

“The minute you tell them, ‘no money,’ even if it’s for a few days or a few weeks, they probably need to think about closing their doors temporarily and furloughing employees.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2025

The work stoppages have disrupted supply chains, resulting in the three automakers furloughing and laying off thousands of non-striking workers.

From Reuters ● Oct. 27, 2023

Assistant Secretary of War, Judge Campbell, is still furloughing, detailing, and discharging men from the army; and yet he thinks the country is pretty nearly exhausted of its fighting population!

From A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital by Jones, John Beauchamp