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employ

v.
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ɛmˈpɫɔɪ// UK //ɛmplˈɔɪ// em·ploy Archaic General-service

v. to pay someone to work for you or your company. It can also mean to use a specific tool, method, or skill to get a job done.

v. to provide work and payment for a person under a contract of service; also, to make use of a particular method, skill, or object for a specific purpose.


SIMPLE

The local factory plans to employ fifty new workers this month.

CONTEXTUAL

The marketing team decided to employ a new social media strategy to reach younger customers.

COMPLEX

To solve the complex engineering problem, the researchers had to employ advanced mathematical models that had never been tested in a real-world environment.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French emploi (“job, employment”), the deverbal from employer (“to put to use, to employ”), first attested in the late 17th century.

Usage

The verb is transitive and requires a direct object. When used in the sense of 'using' something, it often pairs with abstract nouns like 'tactics', 'methods', or 'logic'.

Pitfall

The company employs of many people.The company employs many people.Employ is a transitive verb and does not take a preposition before its object.

Idioms1 entry

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