employer

American  

[em-ploi-er] / ɛmˈplɔɪ ər /

noun

• employers
  plural

1. a person or business that employs one or more people, especially for wages or salary.

   a fair employer.

2. a person or thing that makes use of or occupies someone or something.

   an inadequate employer of one's time.

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employer British  

/ ɪmˈplɔɪə /

noun

1. a person, business, firm, etc, that employs workers

2. a person who employs; user

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Usage

What does employer mean? An employer is a person, company, or organization that employs people—pays them for work. The people who are paid to work are called employees. Employers provide employment. Less commonly, employer can mean something that occupies someone or someone that uses something (the word employ can also mean to use), as in Be a good employer of your time. Example: If the factory closes, thousands of people will lose their jobs—it’s the largest employer in the county.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preemployer
  noun
• proemployer
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• employers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of employer

First recorded in 1590–1600; employ + -er ¹

Explanation

An employer is the person or organization that you work for. Can't find a job? Look at the bright side: you don't have to cater to the whims of any employer! The verb employ means "to make use of." An employer hires an employee, or worker, in order to employ him at various tasks. A factory owner is an employer who might hire people to work on an assembly line. If you're a teacher, then your school is your employer. If you’re lucky enough to have a generous employer, then you’ll probably want to stay at your job for a while!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

employer employers

Plus I’d loved teaching, and for years my employer had offered me praise, awards and touted the high return-student ratio I’d helped to build.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

Her employer paid for exams and training, as well as a wage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

You may actually be charged up to 102% of the premium — the amount your employer previously paid, in addition to your share of the premium and a 2% administrative fee.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

John, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym because he is part of a lawsuit against his former employer, has been diagnosed with coal workers' pneumoconiosis, commonly called black lung disease.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

“I built a whole shipyard, and I don’t know a word of Latin past e pluribus unum. No employer will hire you merely because you know Latin, young Buckminster.’

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt

McCabe, who leads a minority Labour administration, wants ministers to treat the area as a special case, providing more incentives to attract new employers.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

They also expressed frustration at the growing number of employers using AI to screen applications.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

But around 60 percent of the staff are Austrian, and "AT&S is one of the largest employers in this region", Decker-Schloegl said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026

The New York state bill, approved by both houses of the legislature, calls for employers to disclose when they expect an advertised role to be filled and levies fines for violations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

He wondered whether employers could smell his America-pining on his breath, or sense how obsessively he still looked at the websites of American universities.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Related Words

• boss
• company
• corporation
• entrepreneur
• executive
• firm
• management
• manager
• manufacturer
• organization
• owner