Word
employ
Phoneticsem·ploy, stress on the second syllable
US/ɛmˈpɫɔɪ/
UK/ɛmplˈɔɪ/
Definitions
01to give someone a job
A2 · Elementary
v. to pay someone to work for you or your company.
v. to retain someone as an employee in exchange for payment. Transitive — always takes the person or group as a direct object.
日本語:雇う※
“The local factory employs over two hundred people from the nearby village.”
“The multinational corporation employs thousands of software engineers across its European offices to maintain its cloud infrastructure.”
Usage
Often used in the passive voice to describe a person's job status.
02to use a method or tool
B2 · Upper Intermediate Academic
v. to use something, such as a skill or a method, for a particular purpose.
v. to make use of a resource, technique, or instrument to achieve a specific goal.
日本語:使う※
“The builders employed a new technique to finish the roof more quickly.”
“The researchers employed a variety of statistical models to ensure the accuracy of their findings before publication.”
Usage
Common in academic and professional writing as a more formal alternative to 'use'.
03to keep busy
C1 · Advanced Formal · Literary
v. to keep yourself busy with an activity.
v. to occupy or preoccupy someone's time or attention. Often used reflexively.
“She employed herself with gardening while waiting for the news.”
“He employed his time in the library, meticulously cataloguing the rare manuscripts that had been neglected for decades.”
Antonyms
04state of being an employee
B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun Formal
n. the state of being employed by someone.
n. the state of being in someone's service or employment.
Español:empleo
“He has been in the company's employ for nearly twenty years.”
“The diplomat remained in the government's employ until his retirement, serving in several high-profile international roles.”
Synonyms
Antonyms
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “employ” in context.
Etymology
From late Middle English emploien, imploien, emplien (“to apply to a specific purpose”), from Anglo-Norman emploier, Old French emploiier (“to entangle, fabricate, to make use of”), ultimately from Latin implicāre (“to infold, entangle, involve, engage”), from in- (“in”) + plicāre (“to fold”). Doublet of imply and implicate.
Borrowed from French emploi (“job, employment”), the deverbal from employer (“to put to use, to employ”), first attested in the late 17th century.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
ADJECTIVE
Idioms
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A2 KeyIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.3.0–4.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 2.0–2.524–43TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.225–549
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- A2 · ElementaryOxford
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/employ
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「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0
Traducciones: Kaikki.org (Wiktionary), CC BY-SA 4.0