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• pink slip
  pink slip

  noun

  notice of dismissal from one's job.
• pink-slip
  pink-slip

  verb (used with object)

  to dismiss from a job.

pink slip

¹ American  

noun

1. notice of dismissal from one's job.

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pink-slip ² American  

[pingk-slip] / ˈpɪŋkˈslɪp /

verb (used with object)

pink-slipped, pink-slipping

1. to dismiss from a job.

   He will be pink-slipped next month.

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pink slip British  

noun

1. informal a notice of redundancy issued to an employee

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Etymology

Origin of pink slip¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Origin of pink-slip²

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Will AI improve workers’ lives—or hand them the equivalent of a pink slip?

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

Colbert was given a pink slip with a long tail this year.

From Salon • Dec. 24, 2025

Lief, who received a pink slip in February — it later was rescinded — said “it would be impossible not to worry about” the possibility of layoffs.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 19, 2025

It looks like I’ll be commuting more—but for how long before I, too, get a pink slip without warning or reason?

From Slate • Feb. 3, 2025

She was wearing her pink slip, and it bore no blooms of blood.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor