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# severance

noun (severance); often «severance pay»

«severance» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (formal) Money paid to a worker when their job ends because the company no longer needs them; also called severance pay or redundancy pay. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/severance/#m1)
2. (formal) Ending a connection or relationship: the severance of ties. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/severance/#m2)
3. Cutting something off. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/severance/#m3)

### In the lessons

An adult, formal word from work and news: «Workers who were let go received severance pay». In formal voice it softens the harsh fact of losing a job. In maths: «Severance is 2 weeks' pay for each year worked» — multiply. Phrases: «severance pay», «severance package», «severance of ties».

### Examples

- When the factory closed, workers got severance pay. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/severance/#x1)
- Her severance package was three months' pay. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/severance/#x2)
- Severance is 1 week's pay for every year worked, so 6 years gives 6 weeks. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/severance/#x3)
- The severance of the two countries' ties surprised many. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/severance/#x4)
- Dad got a small severance when he was let go. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/severance/#x5)
- The severance of the rope sent the boat drifting. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/severance/#x6)

### Note

Uncountable. Verb: sever (to cut off). Formal word; related euphemisms for losing a job: «let go», «made redundant», «laid off».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «severance» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/severance/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«severance» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/severance.html) on Mova free.