human resources

American  

[hyoo-muhn ree-sawr-sis, ree-zawr-siz, yoo-muhn] / ˈhju mən ˈri sɔr sɪs, ˈri zɔr sɪz, ˈju mən /

noun

1. (used with a plural verb) people, especially the personnel employed by a given company, institution, or the like.

2. (used with a singular verb) human resources department.

---

human resources British  

plural noun

1. 1. the workforce of an organization

   2. ( as modifier )

      human-resources management

      human-resources officer

2. 1. the office or department in an organization that interviews, appoints, or keeps records of employees

   2. ( as modifier )

      a human-resources consultancy

3. the contribution to an employing organization which its workforce could provide in effort, skills, knowledge, etc

---

Etymology

Origin of human resources

First recorded in 1965–70

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

human resources

The cuts - the steepest since 2022 - will mainly affect its human resources, legal, product and technology teams and equates to around 6% of its total workforce.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

The demographic was far more likely to use AI compared with other generations, according to researchers at the payroll and human resources platform.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

These changes were notably evident in the software engineering organizations, although they are taking root in other areas including sales, finance and human resources.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

A few seats away, 30-year-old human resources manager Julia Garcia has done the same.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

“And how did you become the human resources manager?”

From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---