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

• employs
  plural

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

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• employs
  plural

Participles

• employing
  present
• employed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• employ
  simple
• employs
  simple
• have employed
  perfect
• has employed
  perfect
• am employing
  progressive
• are employing
  progressive
• is employing
  progressive
• have been employing
  perfect progressive
• has been employing
  perfect progressive

Past

• employed
  simple
• had employed
  perfect
• was employing
  progressive
• were employing
  progressive
• had been employing
  perfect progressive

Future

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

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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

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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

See Examples For:

employ employs employed employing

The launches follow a slew of recent weapons tests by Pyongyang, including a new precision-guided torpedo system and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile, both of which were said to employ AI technology.

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

Capra achieved many of his greatest successes in the employ of Columbia Pictures studio head Harry Cohn, a profane, hard-boiled character who operated by instinct and ruled by fear.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Rising costs are making it harder for businesses to employ staff and invest in apprenticeships, he says, while more salons are turning to self-employed models to survive.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

Earlier this year, the chemicals company launched its “Transform to Outperform” program, aiming to employ artificial intelligence and automation to reduce expenditures and catalyze growth and productivity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

And invoking my being a guest was one of the strongest strategies you could employ in taarof.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

The Wolverhampton plant, opened in 1903 and which employs more than 1,500 people, is a key site among the 11 facilities acquired by Safran from Collins Aerospace.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

It employs 15 consultant obstetricians but says sickness, reduced working arrangements and maternity leave mean not all are available for the consultant on-call rota.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

Carnival employs 48 cruise directors, who typically work four- to six-month stints on ships, with two months of vacation in between.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

The AI studio has raised $17 million and employs about 45 people.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

The company owns factories, machinery and showrooms, and employs mechanics, accountants and secretaries, but all these together do not comprise Peugeot.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Most investors are looking for a “get-rich-quick strategy,” and the asset-management industry is inherently short-term, when what’s needed is a longer-term vision for companies, such as that employed by legendary investor Warren Buffett, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

Equinix said its centre outside Johannesburg had employed around 750 people during construction but now had 26 permanent staffers.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

The resulting beam was dramatically smaller than those employed in earlier experiments, with the researchers describing a reduction of tens of orders of magnitude.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026

Microsoft employed 223,000 employees as of the end of June.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

The forbidding complex of twenty buildings employed 7,000 people; by some estimates, the Stasi archives contained more than one billion documents describing the vast network of spies and informers cultivated over four decades.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

Thirteenth Floor hosts attractions all over the nation, employing more than 4,000 seasonal employees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

He said: "We need to reduce the cost of employing people because we're all passionate about really wanting to build this economy and grow it - so help us out with some tax relief please..."

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

In 2024, the US Treasury described the China-based Yu as a "linchpin" of North Korea's illicit money-making activities and warned he was "skilled at employing various schemes to avoid detection".

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

As employers are inundated with hundreds of applications, many made with AI or facilitated by it, companies are likewise employing AI tools to screen applicants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

Outside of employing a number of New Orleans natives, Zeitoun had hired men from everywhere: Peru, Mexico, Bulgaria, Poland, Brazil, Honduras, Algeria.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

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Related Words

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

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