FURLOUGH

furlough

(noun) a temporary leave of absence from military duty

furlough

(verb) grant a leave to; “The prisoner was furloughed for the weekend to visit her children”

furlough, lay off

(verb) dismiss, usually for economic reasons; “She was laid off together with hundreds of other workers when the company downsized”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Proper noun

Furlough (plural Furloughs)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Furlough is the 31754th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 727 individuals. Furlough is most common among White (65.75%) and Black/African American (31.09%) individuals.

Etymology

Noun

furlough (countable and uncountable, plural furloughs)

A leave of absence or vacation.

(US) especially one granted to a member of the armed forces, or to a prisoner.

(British) especially one granted to a missionary.

The documents authorizing such leave.

A period of unpaid time off, used by an employer to reduce costs.

Verb

furlough (third-person singular simple present furloughs, present participle furloughing, simple past and past participle furloughed)

(transitive) To grant a furlough to (someone).

(transitive) To have (an employee) not work in order to reduce costs; to send (someone) on furlough.

Source: Wiktionary


Fur"lough, n. Etym: [Prob. fr. D. verlof, fr. a prefix akin to E. for + the root of E. lief, and akin to Dan. forlov, Sw. förlof, G. verlaub permission. See Life, a.] (Mil.)

Definition: Leave of abserice; especially, leave given to an offcer or soldier to be absent from service for a certain time; also, the document granting leave of absence.

Fur"lough, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Furloughed (; p. pr. & vb. n. Furloughing.] (Mil.)

Definition: To furnish with a furlough; to grant leave of absence to, as to an offcer or soldier.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

22 June 2025

STRAP

(noun) an elongated leather strip (or a strip of similar material) for binding things together or holding something in position


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Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

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