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between jobs

between jobs

8 3.4
Without work for a short time while looking for a job
  • idiom
translation icon : en búsqueda de empleo
  • My dad was between jobs at the time.
  • between jobs at this moment
  • between jobs now

And then when I was on my own in between jobs and my friend had suggested, why don't you do consulting?

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Examples

  • You mentioned you were between jobs.

  • I'm between jobs and looking for work in marketing.

  • Especially when you are in transition between jobs.

    Blog text (12)
  • I'm actually in between jobs right now.

  • I'm between jobs right now, though.

  • I have a friend in Massachusetts who was between jobs for a while.

    Blog text (21)
  • Derek's in between jobs, so that would really help.

  • By the looks of things, you're between jobs.

  • Actually, I was in my late twenties, living briefly with my father after my first marriage had failed, and I was between jobs.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Rory, who was between jobs, made appointments for the late afternoon so that he could take advantage of Beau's absence.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

unemployed
vsbetween jobs
274 1.7

Without work and looking for a job

is a temporary experience often involving active job searching
out of work
vsbetween jobs
124 1.8

Without a job and trying to find one

is a temporary state that implies active searching for work
jobless
vsbetween jobs
23 1.9

Not having a job

is a temporary state that usually involves actively looking for work

Antonyms

1.0

Having a paid job

1.0

Having a job and earning money from it

How Long

unemployed
274 1.7
out of work
124 1.8
between jobs
8 3.4

Surface Forms

between jobs positive

Morphology

between + job

The meaning 'temporarily unemployed' is directly inferable from combining 'between' (in the interval separating two things) with 'jobs' — i.e. being in the interval between employment positions. This is a straightforward compositional prepositional phrase that follows basic English logic, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should understand it.

Etymology

The phrase between jobs gives a clear picture: someone standing in the small space between two jobs, not working in either one. That's why it means 'temporarily unemployed'.