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

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Etymology

Origin of employer

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

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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

He said the person administering his interview didn’t realize he was a baseball player until she asked who his employer was.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Another man who lost his job collecting map data to AI challenged his employer in arbitration and won compensation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Gill Walton, from the RCM, said the settlement should "make every NHS employer sit up and take notice"

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Such a flat employer compensation tax, or ECT, could delay Social Security’s insolvency by 20 years, or by even longer if it was part of a package of provisions to fund the program.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

Penelope felt suddenly cautious at the notion of having to interview her prospective employer.

From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood

"Most of them have had their employers and higher education institutions take adverse actions against them, including being placed on leave."

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Some employers are adding new AI-powered screening tools, while others are including cheating-detection software during the hiring process.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

And while only 16% of employers it surveyed are using AI to screen candidates, more than half plan to introduce it due to the large volumes of applications they are receiving.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

He says the process was "exhausting" and "demoralising", with employers often not even getting back to him, and he wouldn't have got through it without some help from AI.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

She still did not have a permit, but her employers simply overlooked the fact, just like the thousands of other whites who did the same for their servants in similar straits.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

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Related Words

• boss
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• executive
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• management
• manager
• manufacturer
• organization
• owner

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