jobless

[ job-lis ]

/ ˈdʒɒb lɪs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR jobless ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

without a job.

noting or pertaining to persons without jobs, especially to those who are seeking employment.

noun

(used with a plural verb) unemployed people collectively, especially those who are seeking a job (usually preceded by the).

Nearby words

Origin of jobless

First recorded in 1800–10; job¹ + -less

Related formsjob·less·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for jobless

Emergency benefits have just expired for some 1.3 million jobless Americans, putting a huge dent in our economy.
Republicans’ Unemployment Shame|Jamelle Bouie|December 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
With the help of GM and Ford and jobless claims at a five-year low, the S&P hit a record high of over 1,700 points.
Consumers Push July U.S. Auto Sales Up Sharply|Filipa Ioannou|August 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Starting in early 2010, this ceased to be a jobless recovery.
The Phony Food-Stamp Scare|Daniel Gross|July 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Business activity revived but reemployment lagged; policymakers confronted what would today be called a “jobless recovery.”
When Big Government Saved America|Mason Williams|June 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST

One of the biggest factors in breaking out of a jobless streak could be … your teeth?
Bad Teeth, Broken Dreams: Lack of Dental Care Keeps Many Out of Jobs|CNBC|June 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Half a thousand jobless workers, armed and reckless, marched toward the docks.
Port O' Gold|Louis John Stellman
Two weeks ago he was down and out, broke, jobless, starving.
The Substitute Prisoner|Max Marcin
The Commission wants unemployment to drop to the point where the number of jobless workers will equal the number of vacant jobs!
The Invisible Government|Dan Smoot
Enroll them in a networking club for the jobless, one of the really good ones.
Makers|Cory Doctorow
Tens of thousands of them milling about, homeless, penniless, jobless.
Land of the Burnt Thigh|Edith Eudora Kohl

British Dictionary definitions for jobless

jobless

/ (ˈdʒɒblɪs) /

adjective

unemployed
(as collective noun; preceded by the)the jobless

Derived Formsjoblessness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for jobless

jobless

1905 (adj.), 1909 (n.), from job (n.) + -less. Related: Joblessness.