precarity
Americannoun
Usage
What is precarity? Precarity is a state of existence in which someone’s mental health or financial security is out of their control because they don’t have a regular income.A person who cannot find regular work will have a hard time paying their bills. Equally, this could affect their mental health, causing anxiety, worry, anger, and other negative emotions. Someone in this situation is in a precarious, or uncertain, position. They are experiencing precarity.Precarity can also be used to describe businesses and financial markets. For example, if you want to invest in a public company, but the company’s market is somewhat stagnant, your investment might be described as precarious and the market as filled with precarity.Example: In my neighborhood, a lot of people experience precarity and are often looking for work.
Etymology
Origin of precarity
First recorded in 1955–60; precar(ious) ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“There’s a sense of precarity in the air. I think it’s going to be a rough year,” said Kerry Hannon, author of “Great Jobs for Everyone 50+,” at the recent Trendspotting 2026 webinar about older workers.
From MarketWatch
"The pilot research has consistently demonstrated both the positive impact it has had on those in receipt of it and how difficult it is to work as an artist in Ireland given the income precarity prevalent in the sector", he added.
From BBC
But by the same token, sources have told BBC Sport that work towards a contingency plan in the event they make a decision they really don't want to make illustrates the precarity of Frank's position.
From BBC
The new novel from the author of ‘My Absolute Darling,’ is a riveting read featuring two desert rat teens climbing to escape the precarity of the American Dream.
From Los Angeles Times
The risk is that, under conditions of precarity, people often stop negotiating for better futures at all, and the cost is in not just wages but in careers that never really get started.
From Slate
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
