employed

American  

[em-ploid] / ɛmˈplɔɪd /

adjective

1. given employment, or paid work; hired, especially permanently by inclusion on a payroll.

   The comedy revolves around a beauty salon owner and her newly employed male stylist.

2. applied or used; made use of.

   In the study, drilling with flashcards was the least frequently employed strategy for language learning.

3. kept busy or engaged with some work or activity.

   I never feel usefully employed in science except when I'm actually gathering data.

4. (of time, energies, etc.) occupied; devoted to some pursuit.

   Working on my quilt gave me many happily employed hours.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of employ.

Other Word Forms

• de-employed adjective
• well-employed adjective

Etymology

Origin of employed

First recorded in 1560–70; employ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; employ ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

Part of the problem is scale: Disney employed 231,000 people at the end of the last fiscal year, so the positions affected by the cuts make up just 0.4% of the company’s overall headcount.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

Abdulkarim was employed by NFI Industries, a third-party distribution company for Kimberly-Clark products, fire officials said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Cunningham, who launched the space last year, said it enabled people to "still be employed in roles that in the past might have required presence in a city office".

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

The bottom 60% of earners keep spending as long as they’re employed because so much of their budget goes to necessities, said Nathan Sheets, chief economist at Citigroup.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

It is an Iron law that the soldier must be employed under every circumstance.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

Related Words

• engaged
• hired
• occupied