human resources

American  

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

Example Sentences

And in human resources, a new agent will soon be able to not only answer questions about benefits and policies, but also take actions, like writing and submitting quarterly employee objectives.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Concerns followed Anthropic announcing its launch of plug-in tools to help with investment banking, engineering and human resources tasks.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026

In December, Doe filed a complaint with Soho House human resources, and she was assured that an investigation would be opened and “immediate corrective action” taken.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2026

On their way out, all the NGO's assets, equipment, financial and human resources documents were confiscated by Houthi authorities, she recalls.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

I did not know anyone—besides the human resources manager at my father's work—who had one car, let alone three.

From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda