employee

noun

em·​ploy·​ee im-ˌplȯ(i)-ˈē 

(ˌ)em-;

im-ˈplȯ(i)-ˌē 

em-

variants or less commonly employe

: one employed by another usually for wages or salary and in a position below the executive level

Synonyms of employee

• worker

Examples of employee in a Sentence

A good boss listens to his employees.

The company has more than 2,000 employees worldwide.

Recent Examples on the Web

Earlier this month, Anthropic disabled customer access to both Mythos and Fable to comply with the US government’s order to suspend all use by foreign nationals — including Anthropic employees themselves. — Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 27 June 2026

One of the options presented must be placing a premium on companies with at least 250 employees, who don’t offer health coverage, to offset the cost to taxpayers for having their workers enrolled in Medi-Cal, according to the deal. — Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 27 June 2026

The following are the hybrid and remote offerings, by role, seen through Robert Half’s analysis of job postings – which mirror more closely with employees’ self-reporting in the BLS numbers. — Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 27 June 2026

Some employees have spent decades here. — Erin Jones, CBS News, 27 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

employ entry 1 + -ee entry 1, perhaps after French employé

First Known Use

1822, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

employee

noun

em·​ploy·​ee im-ˌplȯi-ˈē  (ˌ)em- 

im-ˈplȯi-ˌē, 

em-

: one who works for another for wages or a salary

Legal Definition

employee

noun

em·​ploy·​ee

variants also employe

: a person usually below the executive level who is hired by another to perform a service especially for wages or salary and is under the other's control see also respondeat superior compare independent contractor

Note: In determining whether an individual is an employee, courts look at several factors, including the nature of the compensation paid, provision for employee benefits, whether the hired party is in business, tax treatment of the hired party, source of the equipment used, and location of the work. Statutes, such as workers' compensation acts and labor laws, usually include a definition of employee as it is used in the statute.