nonworking
Americanadjective
-
not employed for a salary, fees, or wages; not producing or generating income.
Our employee medical plan also covers nonworking spouses.
-
not involved in or deriving from labor; not engaged in or directed toward work, especially as an employee.
What are some of your nonworking activities?
-
not functioning or operating.
a nonworking coffee grinder.
adjective
-
not engaged in payed employment
nonworking mothers
-
(of machinery, technology, etc) not operating properly or effectively
nonworking telephones
Etymology
Origin of nonworking
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.
The initial contribution limit was $1,500; starting in 1977, nonworking spouses could contribute an additional $250.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Lawyers sometimes get creative in measuring the sacrifices of the nonworking spouse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
To forestall this happening to younger women who are currently caregiving, she educates them about spousal IRAs, which allow nonworking spouses to save for retirement based on household income.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
A change in the 2021 International Fire Code, for example, required that midsize construction sites employ a “fire watch” during nonworking hours.
From Slate ● Feb. 28, 2025
One clinic, one jail, one nonworking gas stayshun, one big house for the Mayor, one police stayshun.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
