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

The horses get five weeks of furlough every year, 24/7 attention at the stables, regular veterinary care and a day off whenever temperatures exceed 90 degrees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

He guided the company through the pandemic and made a then-prescient call to not furlough employees during the earliest days of Covid, helping restaurants to recover more quickly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

The district’s plan already calls for unpaid furlough days beginning as early as fall break this year; if they are not in place, the county has said it will consider escalating to a fiscal adviser.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 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

I was practically a child at the time, but I remember when he used to come home on furlough and all, all he did was lie on his bed, practically.

From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger

“We’ve seen layoffs and furloughs, and we will see a lot more of that if these invoices aren’t paid.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

As many as 12 million jobs, nearly half of Iran’s workforce, are at risk from furloughs or layoffs, according to Hadi Kahalzadeh, an economist and former official in Iran’s Social Security Organization.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 30, 2026

Wright said in an interview last week that the US' nuclear stockpile would remain secure, but said the furloughs would hamper efforts to modernise older weapons in the stockpile.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2025

Still, after all, the stay in this area was very different from what those on furloughs found at Aix-les-Bains, who, upon returning, usually suffered an attack of the blues.

From History of Ambulance Company Number 139 by Various

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

The 44-year-old had been unable to find other work after getting furloughed and her husband, also a government contractor, was hunting for a second job to pay the bills.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026

Jerry furloughed all his employees and shut down for three months, until the theater was allowed to reopen with strict social distancing rules in place.

From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2025

Many were furloughed for a short time and returned home.

From Uncle Daniel's Story Of "Tom" Anderson And Twenty Great Battles by John McElroy

The Caribbean island’s Communist authorities are rationing dwindling fuel supplies, curtailing public transportation and furloughing workers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026

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

“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

Virgin Orbit, roughly 75%-owned by Virgin Group, scrambled to find new funding after the January rocket failure, halting operations and furloughing nearly all its employees on March 15 to conserve cash.

From Reuters ● Apr. 4, 2023

General Echols then issued an order furloughing the infantry soldiers for sixty days.

From History of Morgan's Cavalry by Basil Wilson Duke