employ

[ em-ploi ]

verb (used with object)

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.

noun

1. employment; service:

   to be in someone's employ.

employ

/ 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 )

Derived Forms

• emˈployable, adjective
• emˌployaˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• non·em·ploy·ing adjective
• o·ver·em·ploy verb (used with object)
• pre·em·ploy verb (used with object)
• re·em·ploy verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of employ¹

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”); implicate

Word History and Origins

Origin of employ¹

C15: from Old French emploier, from Latin implicāre to entangle, engage, from plicāre to fold

Example Sentences

They now employ a production team of more than 100 people who help create the videos and generate ideas, Vik said.

From BBC

Supermarkets employ large numbers of people and profit margins are slim.

From BBC

The authors are planning to continue to develop their model and employ it to study different types of storms.

From Science Daily

Hahn said her organization has partnered with the United Farm Workers union to help farmworkers employed by major farms and labor brokers under investigation by California’s workplace safety agency enroll in the program.

From Los Angeles Times

Earlier studies on mothers' breastfeeding habits yielded samples of a majority of White, non-Hispanic, well-educated, partnered, and employed respondents.

From Science Daily

Related Words

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

More About Employ

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.

Where does employ come from?

The first records of the word employ come from the 1400s. It ultimately derives from the Latin implicāre, meaning “to entangle” or “to engage” (the word engage is sometimes used to mean “to hire” or “to employ”). The words employer and employee came later. In employee, the suffix -ee indicates a person who is the object or beneficiary of employment.

While employees are often seen as the ones getting this benefit—and the benefits that sometimes come with it, such as health insurance—the employee-employer relationship is based on the exchange of work for money. This exchange is often formalized through some kind of contract or employment agreement, and employ is most often used in the context of official situations like this. Sometimes, a person may get paid by a company or person for work, but they may not consider themselves to be employed by that person or company—that is, they don’t consider themselves an employee. Such a person may be a freelancer, and they may consider themselves self-employed.

When employ is used as a general synonym for use, it’s often employed in situations involving the use of something in a specific way or for a specific purpose, as in He’s employing rhetoric to create division.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to employ?

• employed (past tense verb, adjective)
• employer (noun)
• employee (noun)
• employment (noun)
• employable (adjective)

What are some synonyms for employ?

• use
• employment (when employ is used as a noun)

What are some words that share a root or word element with employ? 

 

• self-employed
• unemployed
• underemployed

What are some words that often get used in discussing employ?

 

• business
• company
• job
• pay
• hire
• work
• wages
• paycheck
• labor
• payroll

How is employ used in real life?

Employ is commonly used both in reference to paying someone to work and as another word for use.

Microsoft planning new R&D center in Northern Virginia expected to employ 1,500 people @VTmetroDC @VT_CS https://t.co/vv0joDUiZJ

— Kurt Luther (@kurtluther) May 27, 2020

Group portrait of models employed by the Black Beauty agency (1969) pic.twitter.com/6BgNyv2pYK

— Afroink (@eatingwithgods) June 1, 2020

Mindfulness is the perfect awareness technique to employ when a conflict arises and wreaks havoc on our brains. https://t.co/4jKYMpR9jj

— Harvard Business Review (@HarvardBiz) June 4, 2020

 

 

Try using employ!

Is employ used correctly in the following sentence?

I was in the employ of the same company for my entire career.