English Reference
adjective

unpaid

adj.
US /ənˈpeɪd/ UK /ʌnpˈeɪd/ un·paid

  1. 01 B1 Intermediate

    describes a bill or debt that has not been settled yet.

    referring to a debt, bill, or financial obligation that remains outstanding.

    Simple

    The company sent a reminder because the invoice was still unpaid after thirty days.

    In context

    The finance department flagged several unpaid accounts that had been overdue since the previous fiscal quarter.

    Usage

    Usually functions as a predicative adjective after a verb or an attributive adjective before a noun.

  2. 02 B1 Intermediate

    describes work or a job that you do for free, often for experience or to help others.

    referring to labour or a professional role performed without monetary remuneration.

    Simple

    She took an unpaid internship over the summer to gain experience in the fashion industry.

    In context

    Many charitable organisations rely heavily on unpaid volunteers to manage their daily administrative tasks and community outreach programmes.

    Usage

    Commonly collocates with 'work', 'leave', 'internship', or 'position'.


From un- + paid.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B1 · Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated