furlough

[ fur-loh ]
See synonyms for: furloughfurloughedfurloughing on Thesaurus.com

noun
  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.

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

verb (used with object)
  1. to grant a furlough to.

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

Origin of furlough

1
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, leave2 ); cognate with German erlauben, verlauben, Gothic uslaubjan, Old English ālīefan “to allow, permit”; current pronunciation by association with dough, etc.

Other words from furlough

  • pre·fur·lough, noun

Words Nearby furlough

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use furlough in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for furlough

furlough

/ (ˈfɜːləʊ) /


noun
  1. leave of absence from military duty

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

verb(tr)
  1. to grant a furlough to

  2. US to lay off (staff) temporarily

Origin of furlough

1
C17: from Dutch verlof, from ver- for- + lof leave, permission; related to Swedish förlof

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