human resources

[ hyoo-muhn ree-sawr-sis, ree-zawr-siz, yoo-muhn ]

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.

human resources

plural noun

1. 1. the workforce of an organization
   2. ( as modifier )

      human-resources officer

      human-resources management

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of human resources¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

After receiving the message, she said she decided to report the allegations from her time in Seoul to the company’s human resources director, hoping to see an investigation.

From Washington Post

Other companies look to the tech industry for ideas on how to structure their workforces and set human resources policies.

From Washington Post

At AWS, I’m lucky to have great human resources partners who help me understand the numbers within our team.

From Fortune

A human resources manager within the state Division of Personnel and Labor Relations, Camille Brill, asked the woman to meet.

From ProPublica

My plan was to walk into the human resources office, show them the letter from Marshall Loeb, and ask for a job.

From Fortune

But instead of board member, the definitive organizational role in contemporary corporatism is (yep) the human resources manager.

From The Daily Beast

It speaks volumes that the President of the United States would believe his own human resources need to be managed in such a way.

From The Daily Beast

He is the drone official, the bland-faced human-resources manager tasked with dropping the axe.

From The Daily Beast

Nolen proceeded directly from human resources to the front office.

From The Daily Beast

With California hiring rules already cumbersome, he said, he bit the bullet and outsourced human resources.

From The Daily Beast

A variety of geographical resources and of human resources results in diversity in the economic life of the state.

From Project Gutenberg

She evinced no self-adulation, and no undue dependence upon human resources.

From Project Gutenberg

All of them were well fitted to rebuke that pride in human resources which had been the occasion of his sin.

From Project Gutenberg

He had a more modest estimate of human resources for forming true judgments in religion, and a Religious Toleration.

From Project Gutenberg

But He will teach us the utter barrenness of all human resources.

From Project Gutenberg