underworked

IPA/ˌʌn.dəˈwɜːkt/
IPA/ˌʌn.dɚˈwɝːkt/

underworked — adjective

  • underworkedpositive
  • more underworkedcomparative
  • most underworkedsuperlative

1. Having fewer tasks or responsibilities than expected or desired, so that one is

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

Having fewer tasks or responsibilities than expected or desired, so that one is not busy enough to fill the available time.

Example

The new receptionist felt underworked in her first week, with only three visitors to help each morning.

feel underworked + with [quantity] [reason]

Erik was underworked at the auto shop, so he began cleaning and organizing the storage room.

Common collocations
  • feel underworked
  • be chronically underworked
  • seem underworked
  • underworked staff
  • underworked employees
Synonyms
  • underutilized

    Broader — can describe skills or equipment, not just workload

  • idle

    Stronger implication of doing nothing; may carry a negative judgment

  • unoccupied

    Neutral description of having no current tasks; less common about ongoing roles

Antonyms
  • overworked

    Direct opposite — having too much work rather than too little

Grammar Patterns

be underworked

feel underworked

seem underworked

Usage Note

Usually describes a person's state at a particular job or during a specific period, rather than a permanent trait. Frequently appears with verbs like feel, seem, or be in past participles.

Common Mistakes

I am underworked every day because I don't like this career.
I feel underworked in this role because my daily tasks only take two hours.
underworked describes a temporary workload situation, not a general dislike of one's career.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Underworked, idle, underutilized, and unoccupied all describe having little or nothing to do, but they differ in scope and connotation. Underworked is job-specific: it implies one's employer gives too few tasks (e.g., 'The intern felt underworked and asked for more assignments'). Idle is broader and often temporary ('The machines sat idle during the strike'), and can carry a hint of wasted time or laziness. Underutilized focuses on wasted potential—skills or resources that could be put to better use ('Her language skills were underutilized in data entry'). Unoccupied is the most neutral, simply stating that someone has no current task ('The receptionist was unoccupied for an hour'). Use underworked when the problem is specifically an insufficient amount of assigned work, not just a momentary pause.

underworked ↗idle ↗underutilized ↗unoccupied ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • feel underworked
  • be underworked

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Formed by adding the prefix under- (from Old English under, meaning 'below' or 'insufficiently') to the past participle worked (from Old English wyrcan, 'to do, perform'). The prefix under- has been used since Old English times to indicate inadequacy or insufficiency (as in undercooked, underpaid). The combination underworked appeared in English around the early 20th century, during debates about labor efficiency and fair workload distribution.

First known use

1754

1754, in the meaning defined above