out-of-work

out-of-work — adjective

1. describes a person who does not currently have a paid job or any source of earne

1.形容詞B1
釋義

describes a person who does not currently have a paid job or any source of earned income

例句

Piotr, an out-of-work electrician, spends his mornings at the job centre.

attributive: out-of-work + occupation noun

The city opened a free training programme for out-of-work construction workers.

同義詞
  • unemployed

    more formal and can be used both before a noun and after a linking verb

  • jobless

    slightly more informal; often used in news headlines

  • laid-off

    implies the person lost their job because the employer ended the position, not because they quit

反義詞
  • employed

    the direct opposite; having a paid job

文法句型

out-of-work + noun

用法筆記

Only this sense (with hyphens) can be placed before a noun. The predicative form is the idiom 'out of work' below.

常見錯誤

❌He is out-of-work right now.
✅He is out of work right now.
💡The hyphenated form is only used attributively before a noun, not after a linking verb like 'be'.
❌She is an out of work nurse.
✅She is an out-of-work nurse.
💡Without hyphens, the phrase cannot function as a single adjective before a noun.