unpaid

adjective

un·​paid ˌən-ˈpād How to pronounce unpaid (audio)
1
: not paid
an unpaid volunteer
2
: not paying a salary
an unpaid position

Examples of unpaid in a Sentence

I have a pile of unpaid bills sitting on my desk. The city is trying to collect unpaid taxes. She took three months of unpaid leave from her job. I served as an unpaid consultant on the project.
Recent Examples on the Web Every hour a government auditor spends scrutinizing a return declaring $5 million of income unearths nearly $3,500 in unpaid taxes, according to the Government Accountability Office; for returns reporting $10 million or more, the yield is more than $13,000 per hour. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Five months after one of Linkin Park’s former bassists sued the band over unpaid royalties connected to their Hybrid Theory reissue, the group’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 6 Mar. 2024 In a note to creditors included in his September report, Wirth cautioned that state statutes require unpaid employees to be paid first and most claimants will not be compensated for their losses. Karl Ebert, Journal Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2024 The rule would not affect interest rates on unpaid credit card balances, which average more than 20%. Scott Horsley, NPR, 5 Mar. 2024 In addition to the severance payments themselves, the lawsuit also seeks a court order forcing Musk to make interest payments on the allegedly unpaid amounts, as well as a penalty for Musk’s alleged failure to send the executives legally required plan documents associated with their benefits. Brian Fung, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024 According to a redacted probable cause affidavit reviewed by PEOPLE, Mack, along with two other officials arrived at the Independence, Mo., home on Feb. 29 to evict Acree, who had lost the home due to unpaid taxes. Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 The list of former Twitter employees, landlords and vendors suing the social media platform and Elon Musk is growing, with four ex-executives filing a lawsuit collectively seeking more than $128 million in unpaid severance. Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Mar. 2024 The act allows certain employees to take unpaid time off work to care for themselves or other family members due to health reasons or other issues. Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unpaid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of unpaid was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near unpaid

Cite this Entry

“Unpaid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unpaid. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

unpaid

adjective
un·​paid ˌən-ˈpād How to pronounce unpaid (audio)
1
: not paid
an unpaid volunteer
2
: not paying a salary
an unpaid position

More from Merriam-Webster on unpaid

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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