human resources

American  

[hyoo-muhn ree-sawr-sis, ree-zawr-siz, yoo-muhn] / ˈhju mən ˈri sɔr sɪs, ˈri zɔr sɪz, ˈju mən /

noun

1. (used with a plural verb) people, especially the personnel employed by a given company, institution, or the like.

2. (used with a singular verb) human resources department.

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human resources British  

plural noun

1. 1. the workforce of an organization

   2. ( as modifier )

      human-resources management

      human-resources officer

2. 1. the office or department in an organization that interviews, appoints, or keeps records of employees

   2. ( as modifier )

      a human-resources consultancy

3. the contribution to an employing organization which its workforce could provide in effort, skills, knowledge, etc

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Etymology

Origin of human resources

First recorded in 1965–70

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

human resources

The cuts - the steepest since 2022 - will mainly affect its human resources, legal, product and technology teams and equates to around 6% of its total workforce.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

On Tuesday, Disney laid off more than 300 people, most of whom work in human resources and information technology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

The demographic was far more likely to use AI compared with other generations, according to researchers at the payroll and human resources platform.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

A few seats away, 30-year-old human resources manager Julia Garcia has done the same.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

When I say run a company, I mean keeping track of inventory, staying in touch with customers, recruiting, project management, product development, scheduling, budgeting, and human resources.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

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