employed
Americanadjective
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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.
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applied or used; made use of.
In the study, drilling with flashcards was the least frequently employed strategy for language learning.
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kept busy or engaged with some work or activity.
I never feel usefully employed in science except when I'm actually gathering data.
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(of time, energies, etc.) occupied; devoted to some pursuit.
Working on my quilt gave me many happily employed hours.
verb
Other Word Forms
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
Explanation
Someone who's employed has a job or is busy with something. Some people believe that employed teenagers get themselves in less trouble than those without jobs. If you're working, you're employed. Most employed people work traditional full-time jobs, although an increasing number of them are freelancers or have part-time positions. Another way to use this adjective is to mean "used," as when you say, "The employed methods for keeping the classroom calm seem a little extreme to me." The adjective employed comes from the related verb, employ, "use, apply, occupy, or hire."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The workers, who are employed by sub-contractor Idverde, will strike over a proposed pay rise of 70p an hour for skilled gardeners and team leaders, which GMB union said was "an insult".
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
When the Secret Service devised a plan to transport Bill Clinton from India to Pakistan in 2000, it was similar to the plan that Trump employed on July 8.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
On TikTok, young people dubbed personality hires are pushing back against the narrative that they are employed despite lacking skills.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
That sensitivity is reflected in the adorable strategy Hunnam employed to detox from playing Gein throughout the production.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
‘No, I am a pharmacist. And John Roberts on your left is employed in the postal department of the government.’
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
