unemployed

adjective

un·​em·​ployed ˌən-im-ˈplȯid 

: not employed:

a

: not being used

unemployed machines

b

: not engaged in a gainful occupation

an unemployed teacher seeking work

15% of the workforce was unemployed.

c

: not invested

unemployed capital

unemployed noun

Synonyms

• out of work
• jobless

Examples of unemployed in a Sentence

the plant closings left a significant portion of the town's population unemployed

Recent Examples on the Web

Lower-income Americans may be unemployed or underemployed, therefore lacking access to comprehensive health care coverage. —Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 11 Oct. 2025

Investigators traced the number to an unemployed plumber, Michael King, who was going through foreclosure and owned a green Camaro. —Mason Leath, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2025

Sitting my Black a-- at home, unemployed … playing damn tiddlywinks. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2025

However, being unemployed stripped away my defenses and revealed a deep need for ancestral guidance in a season when my world felt unstable. —Essence, 10 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing unemployed

• the unemployed

Rhymes for unemployed

• albuminoid
• arytenoid
• cannabinoid
• carotenoid
• epidermoid
• epithelioid
• meteoroid
• paraboloid
• subarachnoid
• underemployed
• adenoid
• alkaloid

Kids Definition

unemployed

adjective

un·​em·​ployed ˌən-im-ˈplȯid 

1

: not being used

unemployed tools

2

: not employed : having no job

unemployed workers

unemployed noun