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

---

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

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

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

Assembly Bill 2222 would create refundable tax credits for California local news organizations based on the number of journalists they employ.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

One culprit may be a slowing labor market in manufacturing last year, alongside continued strong job and wage growth in services that employ relatively more women.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Since Steam’s 1969 hit and “Hey Jude” both employ a common non-lexical vocable, it follows that sports fans in their home countries have adopted each for their own purposes.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

While a large data centre can employ more than a thousand workers during construction, research says that number drops to more like 100 jobs once the centre is operational.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

“My husband works as a women’s clothier, and we employ several local women to make garments to order. We are looking for a girl who is good with a needle.”

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

That’s how much of my time it was taking before,” said David Rudy, talent manager, producer and father of 6-month-old identical twin boys who employs a house manager.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

In Doonbeg -- population 784 -- the Trump resort employs around 300 people at the height of the tourist season.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

Allocators may require higher yields before moving wholesale into bonds, regardless of what measures the Treasury Department employs in the market to cap yields.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

JLR's long-term issues were made worse after a cyber-attack last year caused the firm, which employs 43,000 people globally, to shut down production for more than a month.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

Women fared somewhat better during this period because the social-service sector in urban areas—which employs primarily women—was expanding at the same time manufacturing jobs were evaporating.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

At least one of those facilities employed North Korean women, according to South Korean officials who viewed videos from the site.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

A May 2026 PwC study estimated the industry directly employed more than 1 million Americans in 2024 and supported 5.5 million jobs across the broader economy, up 17% in a single year.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

"We measured outcomes like whether someone became employed or unemployed, whether they got married or divorced, and standard indicators of mental health," he said.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

The 38-year-old is now employed by Israel's Football Association to work with young talents from Palestinian areas.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

I grudged the months I had spent with her, employed by her, taking her money, trotting in her wake like a shadow, drab and dumb.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

But he uses Lake Ontario in conversation to avoid confusion, only employing “Lake America” when he wants to aggravate people.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

"Space control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest and control the space domain -- employing kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities," the statement said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

Declan Craggs, the mayor of Diss, Norfolk, said Diss Town Council has tried using ultrasonic sound devices and employing a falconer's hawks to scare the pigeons away from Mere Street, but nothing has worked.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Even the H-2A legal process for hiring seasonal foreign workers “would likely be more expensive than employing undocumented workers.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Colin began by employing a strategy he'd just invented called the “windmill,” which involved windmilling his arms around to keep his attacker at bay.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

Related Words

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