fur·lough
ˈfər-(ˌ)lō 
1
: a leave of absence granted to a governmental or institutional employee (such as a soldier or civil servant)
The Army began furloughs in September as so-called 'sanity checks' for soldiers whose tour has stretched to nearly a year.—
Jenny Deam
Jenny Deam
also
: a document authorizing such a leave of absence
2
: a temporary leave from work that is not paid and is often for a set period of time
One possible way to avoid layoffs is through furloughs—making workers take an unpaid leave of absence …—Paul B. Brown
Paul B. Brown3
: a set period of time when a prisoner is allowed to leave a prison
Those probation officers are then able to monitor criminals serving their sentences in work camps or on furlough rather than in jail as a way of relieving overcrowding.—Richard Willing
Richard Willing
furloughed; furloughing; furloughs
1
: to grant a leave of absence or furlough to (someone)
a soldier being furloughed
a furloughed prisoner
2
: to put (a worker) on furlough : to lay off (a worker) for usually a brief or temporary period
… other airlines are placing pressure on the unionized pilots to take large salary cuts—at least those pilots who haven't already been "furloughed" (the word pilots use instead of the more plebeian "laid off").—George Hopkins
George HopkinsAlthough no one could supply exact figures, sources in Washington, D.C., said nearly 500,000 federal workers were furloughed for all or part of Thursday. In the Los Angeles-Long Beach area about 11,000 of the 40,000 federal workers were sent home because of the operating fund impasse in Congress.—Jerry Belcher
Jerry BelcherSynonyms
Examples of furlough in a Sentence
Noun
Each employee will have a one-day furlough every month.
the landscaping company usually has to put most of its personnel on furlough during the extremely slow winter months
Verb
The company will consider furloughing a small number of workers.
Recent Examples on the Web
Steff Danielle Thomas, The Hill, 2 Nov. 2024
The now-seven-week walkout has left the aerospace company at a standstill, leading Boeing’s new CEO Kelly Ortberg to quickly try to balance the budget with additional layoffs and furloughs.
—Megan Poinski, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
Melvin Backman, Quartz, 5 Nov. 2024
Ending the stoppage, which has also halted production of Boeing's 767 and 777 widebody planes, would also benefit aerospace suppliers that have been furloughing workers, as well as airlines facing aircraft delivery delays.
—Dan Catchpole and Allison Lampert, USA TODAY, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for furlough 
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Noun
The measures included a hiring freeze, temporary furloughs, leadership pay cuts and payments halted to many lobbying firms in Washington.
—Steff Danielle Thomas, The Hill, 2 Nov. 2024
The now-seven-week walkout has left the aerospace company at a standstill, leading Boeing’s new CEO Kelly Ortberg to quickly try to balance the budget with additional layoffs and furloughs.
—Megan Poinski, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
Verb
The company’s workers have been furloughed as a result of the stoppage, and Boeing has plans in place to begin layoffs before Thanksgiving equal to 10% of its workforce.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 5 Nov. 2024
Ending the stoppage, which has also halted production of Boeing's 767 and 777 widebody planes, would also benefit aerospace suppliers that have been furloughing workers, as well as airlines facing aircraft delivery delays.
—Dan Catchpole and Allison Lampert, USA TODAY, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for furlough
Dictionary Entries Near furlough
Cite this Entry
“Furlough.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/furlough. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
furlough
1 of 2 noun
fur·lough
ˈfər-lō
: a leave of absence from duty granted especially to a soldier
furlough
2 of 2 verb1
: to grant a furlough to
2
: to lay off from work
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