Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

dole

1 noun
     
Related topics: Welfare
dole1 [uncountable] informal
1PEW British English money given by the government in Britain to people who are unemployed
be/go on the dole (=be unemployed and receiving money from the government)
Too many young people are still on the dole.
The number claiming dole went up by 3,500.
2

the dole queue/dole queues

British English the number of people who are unemployed and claiming money from the government, or a line of people waiting to claim this money each week:
As two factories closed today, 500 people joined the dole queue.
Dole queues lengthened.
3

the dole

American English money given by the government in the US to people who need financial help [= welfare]
on the dole
How many people are on the public dole?
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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