What does furloughed mean?
"Furloughed" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "furlough," meaning to be sent home from a job temporarily and usually without pay, with the understanding that employment continues and the worker may be recalled. Unlike being fired or made redundant, a furlough implies an expected return, making it a distinct category of workforce reduction. The word originated in military contexts, where soldiers were granted furloughs — authorized leaves of absence — before spreading into business and government use, particularly for public-sector shutdowns in the United States. It gained worldwide familiarity during the COVID-19 pandemic, when governments and companies furloughed millions of workers whose roles were suspended rather than eliminated. In Britain especially, "being furloughed" came to mean having wages covered by a state-supported retention scheme. The word carries a tone of provisional, involuntary idleness: neither fully employed nor fully unemployed.
verb (past tense and past participle)Past tense and past participle of "furlough": to dismiss an employee from work temporarily, typically without pay, while retaining their job for an expected return.
- Temporarily dismissed from employment without pay, with the expectation of being rehired.
- (Historical/military) Granted a leave of absence from duty.
"The airline furloughed thousands of pilots when travel collapsed during the pandemic."
"Thousands of factory workers were furloughed until demand recovered."
"After being furloughed in April, she used the unpaid months to finish her degree."
A once-obscure military term became a household word almost overnight in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic furloughed millions of workers around the world.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of furloughed
The word derives from the Dutch "verloof" (more commonly "verlof"), meaning leave or permission, which entered English in the seventeenth century through Anglo-Dutch military contact and became established as "furlough." It first saw widespread use in British military administration, where it denoted a soldier's formal leave of absence, and later expanded into civilian employment during the nineteenth century. Its Germanic relatives include German "Urlaub," a comparable term for leave. The modern employment sense — temporary unpaid release from work — became prominent in American usage and reached global prominence during the 2020 pandemic.
Related word forms
How furloughed is actually used
"Furloughed" carries a connotation of temporary, involuntary absence rather than permanent termination; it is neutral-to-formal in register and common in news reporting, HR language, and labor discussions. In the UK, the term was strongly associated with the government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, where furloughed wages were subsidised by the state.
Easily confused with furloughed
"Furled" means rolled or folded up (as a sail or flag), whereas "furloughed" means temporarily released from employment.