Synonyms

out of work

Idioms

Unemployed; also, having no work to do. For example, He lost his job a year ago and has been out of work ever since, or They don't give her enough assignments—she's always out of work. Shakespeare used this expression in Henry V (1:2): “All out of work and cold for action.”

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.

See Examples For:

out of work

The disaster put about 50 Pizzamania employees out of work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

The Culinary Union, which represents 60,000 hospitality workers in Nevada, says thousands of its members are now out of work or seeing their hours cut.

From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026

Job searches can be lengthy and grueling for people who are out of work and looking.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

In his interim report, Milburn said the number of young people out of work, training or education in the UK is three times higher than in the Netherlands and twice as high as in Ireland.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

“I came here to change. Your lawyer hit man, Nazario, sprung me out of work and gave me no choice.”

From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023