employed

[em-ploid]

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.

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• de-employed adjective
• well-employed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of employed¹

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

“Firms are probably being super careful about whether they are going to report anybody as employed that they think maybe they shouldn’t be reporting as employed.”

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The job-opening rate is determined by comparing the number of open jobs against the number of people who are already employed.

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M3M employed the judge’s nephew as a legal adviser as compensation for favors in the court where the judge was hearing cases, according to a police report and court documents related to that case.

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He is free to see patients within NHS Highland, but it is not clear whether he is currently employed.

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The number of employed people rose 14,900 in the same period, falling of short of an expected rise of more than 20,000.

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Related Words

• engaged 
• hired www.thesaurus.com
• occupied