employ

American  

[em-ploi] / ɛmˈplɔɪ /

verb (used with object)

employs, present (3rd person singular) employed, past participle, past employing present participle

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.

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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

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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

Derived Forms

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

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have employed
  perfect
• has employed
  perfect 3rd person singular
• are employing
  progressive
• is employing
  progressive 3rd person singular
• has been employing
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• have been employing
  perfect progressive
• employs
  singular 3rd person
• am employing
  progressive 1st person singular
• employing
  participle

Past

• had employed
  perfect
• were employing
  progressive plural
• had been employing
  perfect progressive
• was employing
  progressive singular
• employed
  simple
• employed
  participle

Future

• will employ
  simple
• will have employed
  perfect
• will have been employing
  perfect progressive
• will be employing
  progressive

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”); see implicate

Explanation

To employ means to use something or hire someone to work. You can employ a saw to cut a board or employ a tutor to teach you math. You can even employ your talents in study and activities. The Latin source of employ is the word implicāre, which literally means to enfold or be connected with. This ties in with the verb employ, which is transitive and needs a direct object. (You can't just say "I will employ — you have to employ something.) The word also suggests using something for a specific purpose: you can employ someone for a job or find something in which to employ your own interests.

Example Sentences

“But as we look at private-sector jobs picking back up, it is broader than it had been in 2025—and it’s also very specific to industries that employ noncitizens,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026

"We employ a straightforward stacking approach to integrate ultra-thin materials with metasurfaces, overcoming the technical challenges of direct material growth on photonic structures, and enabling further advances in valleytronics," Dr. Xing said.

From Science Daily • Jun. 2, 2026

Hedge funds employ the best AI researchers available, spending hundreds of millions of dollars annually to extract fractions of a percentage point of edge.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 1, 2026

As the case wends its way through the courts, the government has not yet made good on its threat to break up NCAR's various labs, which currently employ about 800 people.

From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026

In speeches, he urged white colleges to employ Negro professors.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

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