nonworking

[non-wur-king]

adjective

1. not employed for a salary, fees, or wages; not producing or generating income.

   Our employee medical plan also covers nonworking spouses.

2. 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?

3. not functioning or operating.

   a nonworking coffee grinder.

nonworking

/ nɒnˈwɜːkɪŋ /

adjective

1. not engaged in payed employment

   nonworking mothers

2. (of machinery, technology, etc) not operating properly or effectively

   nonworking telephones

Word History and Origins

Origin of nonworking¹

First recorded in 1850–55; non- + working

Example Sentences

Today, the average nonworking man spends 520 hours a year on “recreational computer time,” most of it video games.

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During a Dec. 10 outage in Moorpark, a utility truck failed to stop at a nonworking light on State Route 118, crashing into a sedan.

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He paid an annual rent of “one peppercorn,” according to details of the lease, triggering questions from British lawmakers about why a nonworking royal appeared to be getting subsidized housing.

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Andrew is rarely seen at public events having already been relegated to the status of “nonworking royal.”

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A change in the 2021 International Fire Code, for example, required that midsize construction sites employ a “fire watch” during nonworking hours.

Read more on Slate