out of work prepositional phrase 2out-of-work adjective 1 prepositional phrase2 •unemployed, or having nothing to do •(old-fashioned) not working correctly; out of orderThis lost time was caused mainly because the operator had to find the dispatcher and notify him that the machine was out of work. — 1955 out-of-work adjective1 •Unemployed; not employed in one's preferred field.He is an out-of-work actor, seeking a part-time job.
