out of a job

prep_phrase

"out-of-a-job" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“out of a job” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having lost one's job; unemployed.

Corpus desk

Index EN-out-of-a-job · out of a job · English

out of a job · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "O" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for out of a job
PropertyValue
Headwordout of a job
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPrep_phrase
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “out of a job” in English

out of a jobfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

out of a job is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Having lost one's job; unemployed.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for out of a job in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is out of a job, spelled O-U-T- -O-F- -A- -J-O-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having lost one's job; unemployed.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how out of a job appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. After the management automated the factory, the machinists were out of a job.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "out of a job"?
"out of a job" is spelled O-U-T- -O-F- -A- -J-O-B.
What does "out of a job" mean?
As a prep_phrase, "out of a job" means: Having lost one's job; unemployed.
What language does "out of a job" come from?
"out of a job" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list