unemployed
Americanadjective
-
not employed; without a job; out of work.
an unemployed secretary.
- Synonyms:
- jobless, at liberty, idle, unoccupied
-
not currently in use.
unemployed productive capacity.
-
not productively used.
unemployed capital.
noun
adjective
-
-
without remunerative employment; out of work
-
( as collective noun; preceded by the )
the unemployed
-
-
not being used; idle
Usage
What does unemployed mean? Unemployed means not having a paid job—not being employed. A person who’s described as unemployed is typically out of work and looking for a job. A person who’s retired, for example, wouldn’t be said to be unemployed. Unemployed is sometimes used to refer to unemployed people collectively, as in These programs are intended to help the unemployed. The state of being unemployed is unemployment. The opposite of this is employment. The verb employ also means to use, and unemployed can be used to mean unused, as in We shouldn’t let these resources go unemployed. Example: I was unemployed for a long time before I was recruited in Greenland by someone who finally saw my strengths.
Etymology
Origin of unemployed
Explanation
If you're ready to work but can't find a job, you're unemployed. It can be a struggle for someone who's unemployed to pay their bills. People who lose their jobs are unemployed, at least until they find another one. Most governments have programs to support unemployed people as they search for work. To be employed means to have a paying job, but before the 17th century this word simply meant "be busy devoting yourself to something," and unemployed was used for people who weren't occupied with activities, but were enjoying some leisure time.
Vocabulary lists containing unemployed
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.
Continuing claims, which scale with the total size of the unemployed population, totaled about 1.72 million in the week through Oct.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
“So many people who are unemployed have a much harder time finding their way back into the job market,” said Nicole Bachaud, a labor economist at job-search site ZipRecruiter.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
An unemployed former hotel employee who gave her first name as Oumy said as she marched on the weekend that she no longer believed in the government's promises.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
More than 80% of people in Gaza are unemployed so most of the population relies on aid.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
It was the hands-on end of the struggle: placing babies with adoptive parents, finding work for the unemployed and medical help for the uninsured.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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