jobless
/ˈdʒɒbləs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈdʒɑːbləs/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈjäb-ləs/ (ame, mw) · /ˈdʒɒb.ləs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈdʒɑːb.ləs/ (ame, ipa)
jobless — adjective
- joblesspositive
- more joblesscomparative
- most joblesssuperlative
1. not earning money because you do not have paid work, often after losing a previo
not earning money because you do not have paid work, often after losing a previous job
Leo has been jobless for six months since the printing factory closed.
be + jobless + for [time] for duration of unemployment
Eleni felt anxious about being jobless with two small children at home.
predicative: be jobless after the linking verb
Thousands of jobless workers gathered outside the town hall to demand help.
After the bank merger, Astrid found herself suddenly jobless at the age of fifty.
Darius volunteered at the food bank while he was jobless last winter.
- unemployed
the standard neutral term; more common in everyday speech and official forms
- out of work
informal phrasal alternative; suggests the state is recent or temporary
- redundant
British English; specifically means dismissed because the employer no longer needs the role
文法句型
be jobless
jobless [noun]
用法筆記
Often appears in news writing about unemployment statistics (e.g. 'jobless rate', 'jobless claims'). In personal speech, 'out of work' or 'unemployed' is more common than 'jobless'.
常見錯誤
jobless — noun
1. people without paid work, treated as a group, especially in writing about the ec
people without paid work, treated as a group, especially in writing about the economy or social policy
The government promised more training programs for the jobless next year.
always preceded by 'the'; takes a plural verb
Charities in the city handed out hot meals to the jobless every Sunday.
for the jobless = for unemployed people as a group
Newspapers reported that the jobless were waiting hours to file their claims.
Local volunteers built a small library inside the shelter that served the jobless.
- the unemployed
the standard equivalent; identical pattern with 'the' and plural verb
- job seekers
softer phrasing common in official documents; emphasises looking for work rather than lacking it
- the employed
parallel formation; people who have paid work
文法句型
the jobless
用法筆記
Only sense that takes the definite article 'the' as a plural noun for a whole social group ('the jobless = unemployed people'). Distinguish from the adjective sense, which describes a single person or thing.