nonpaid

Nonpaid is an adjective used to describe something that does not involve payment or compensation. It can refer to people who perform work without wages, services provided at no charge, or items that carry no price tag. The term is formed by adding the prefix non- to paid, and is usually synonymous with unpaid, though usage varies by region and style guide. In practice, unpaid is the more common term in everyday English, while nonpaid appears in some formal, legal, or organizational texts.

In employment and volunteering contexts, nonpaid describes roles such as volunteers or interns who perform duties without monetary compensation. The legality and ethics of unpaid work are topics of debate in many jurisdictions, with laws often outlining conditions under which volunteers may participate and restrictions on for-profit exploitation. When referring to leave or time off, the standard term is unpaid leave rather than nonpaid leave.

In consumer language, nonpaid can describe goods or services provided without charge; however, “free” or “gratis” are far more common in marketing. In internal documents, contracts, or program descriptions, nonpaid options may be used to distinguish from paid alternatives or to specify eligibility criteria.

Overall, nonpaid is a valid though less common variant of unpaid, used in limited contexts where emphasis on lack of payment is required. See also unpaid, free, gratis.