employ

American  

[em-ploi] / ɛmˈplɔɪ /

verb (used with object)

1. to hire or engage the services of (a person or persons); provide employment for; have or keep in one's service.

   This factory employs thousands of people.

2. to make use of (an instrument, means, etc.); use; apply.

   We employ objective and scientific methods to analyze all management areas.

3. to keep busy or at work; engage the attentions of.

   He employs himself by reading after work.

4. to occupy or devote (time, energies, etc.).

   I employ my spare time in reading. I employ all my energies in writing.

---

noun

1. employment; service.

   to be in someone's employ.

employ British  

/ ɪmˈplɔɪ /

verb

1. to engage or make use of the services of (a person) in return for money; hire

2. to provide work or occupation for; keep busy; occupy

   collecting stamps employs a lot of his time

3. to use as a means

   to employ secret measures to get one's ends

---

noun

1. the state of being employed (esp in the phrase in someone's employ )

Usage

What does employ mean? To employ someone is to pay them to work. An employer employs employees.The state of being employed is employment.A more specific use of employ is as a noun meaning employment or service. This sense of the word is almost always used in phrases like in their employ. Employ also means to use, as in This task will require you to employ a different skill set.Less commonly, employ can mean to keep one busy or occupy one, as in During flights I usually employ myself with some knitting. Example: My company employs more than 500 people.

Other Word Forms

• employability noun
• employable adjective
• nonemploying adjective
• overemploy verb (used with object)
• preemploy verb (used with object)
• reemploy verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of employ

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English employen, from Anglo-French, Middle French emploier, ultimately derived from Latin implicāre “to enfold” ( Late Latin: “to engage”); implicate

Example Sentences

Big picture: Manufacturers still play a big role in the economy, employing some 13 million people directly and many others indirectly.

From MarketWatch

Newell Brands employed approximately 23,700 people worldwide as of the end of last year, according to its most recent annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

From The Wall Street Journal

In mostly English but sometimes Spanish and Spanglish, Guzman-Lopez takes readers from the U.S.-Mexico border to L.A., employing the type of lyrical bank shots only a poet can get away with.

From Los Angeles Times

Data centers don’t employ many workers once they are actually built.

From The Wall Street Journal

The U.S. employs an estimated 10,000 commercial sailors, a number that has fallen sharply over recent decades as America outsourced much of its shipping demands to China and other countries.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• apply
• engage
• exploit
• handle
• occupy
• operate
• spend
• use
• utilize