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
Examples of unemployed in a Sentence
the plant closings left a significant portion of the town's population unemployed
Recent Examples on the Web
But this is making lemonade out of lemons: the provider role is so deeply intertwined with masculinity that unemployed men are more likely to be impotent.
—
Joan C. Williams
june 13, Literary Hub, 13 June 2025
This has created an army of unemployed professionals with experience in DEI, foreign aid and public health, for example, competing for scarce jobs in those fields.
—David Hessekiel, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
Both increased funding for unemployed workers, expanded spending on health care and made investments in infrastructure.
—Emily Badger, New York Times, 13 June 2025
Long-term unemployment in the U.S. Long-term unemployed as a share of all unemployed workers
Monthly percentage | Jan. 2015–May 2025
The chart shows the long-term unemployed, as a share of all unemployed workers, from Jan. 2015 through May 2025.
—Ana Teresa Solá, CNBC, 11 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for unemployed
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Joan C. Williams
june 13, Literary Hub, 13 June 2025
This has created an army of unemployed professionals with experience in DEI, foreign aid and public health, for example, competing for scarce jobs in those fields.
—David Hessekiel, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
Both increased funding for unemployed workers, expanded spending on health care and made investments in infrastructure.
—Emily Badger, New York Times, 13 June 2025
Long-term unemployment in the U.S. Long-term unemployed as a share of all unemployed workers
Monthly percentage | Jan. 2015–May 2025
The chart shows the long-term unemployed, as a share of all unemployed workers, from Jan. 2015 through May 2025.
—Ana Teresa Solá, CNBC, 11 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for unemployed
Cite this Entry
“Unemployed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unemployed. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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