employ

verb em·ploy \ im-ˈplȯi , em- \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: employ in a Sentence

employed; employing; employs

transitive verb

1 a : to make use of (someone or something inactive)

employ a pen for sketching

b : to use (something, such as time) advantageously

a job that employed her skills

c (1) : to use or engage the services of

(2) : to provide with a job that pays wages or a salary

2 : to devote to or direct toward a particular activity or person

employed all her energies to help the poor

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employer

noun

See employ defined for English-language learners

See employ defined for kids

Examples of employ in a Sentence

The company is accused of employing questionable methods to obtain the contract.
You should find better ways to employ your time.
I had to employ a lawyer to review the contract.
It's a small company, employing a staff of only 20.

Recent Examples of employ from the Web

Ring, who is not employed, lives in Baltimore County; Bulson works for the University of North Carolina system but has family living in the Washington, D.C., area.

— allan vought, The Aegis, "Harford school board faces critical decisons on budget, next superintendent," 8 June 2018
Although few Americans have heard of Infosys, this large company in Bangalore employs 200,000 people and codes for companies as diverse as Nordstrom and Harley-Davidson.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "Has India’s Booming IT Industry Finally Plateaued?," 7 June 2018
The company employs about 800 people in Jacksonville.

— steve bousquet and alex leary, miamiherald, "Trump's tariffs may hurt Rick Scott. The case study is a can of beer.," 6 June 2018
Blackwell tells me that the NFL maintains these women can’t sue the league in a class action lawsuit, as cheerleaders are employed by individual teams.

— molly knight, Marie Claire, "Cheerleaders to NFL: Time's Up for You Too," 5 June 2018
Not only did the show, under Murphy's guidance, cast five transgender women in series regular roles — an unprecedented number for a scripted series — but an exceptional amount of trans and LGBTQ talent were also employed behind the scenes.

— evan real, The Hollywood Reporter, "Ryan Murphy Says 'Pose' Could Have Never Happened Without Trans Talent," 1 June 2018
In 2015, Cheston’s mother also filed a civil lawsuit against Crime Prevention Agency, the security company that employed him at the time.

— gabriella paiella, The Cut, "Rape Survivor Awarded $1 Billion by Jury," 25 May 2018
The institute employs seven people and has around 100 members, according to its founder, 31-year-old Patrick Poppel.

— NBC News, "Austria's tilt toward Russia worries intelligence experts," 22 May 2018
Prospecting is a billion-dollar industry in Alaska and the Yukon—hundreds of small operations and a handful of big ones employ roughly 1,500 people who do everything from geological assay to land surveying to drilling.

— genesee keevil, Popular Mechanics, "The Rush: What the World's Greatest Gold Prospector Knows," 17 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'employ.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of employ

Middle English emploien, from Anglo-French empleier, emploier, emplier to entangle, apply, make use of, from Latin implicare to enfold, involve, from in- + plicare to fold — more at ply

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

employ Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of employ

use, employ, utilize mean to put into service especially to attain an end. use implies availing oneself of something as a means or instrument to an end.

- willing to use any means to achieve her ends

employ suggests the use of a person or thing that is available but idle, inactive, or disengaged.

- looking for better ways to employ their skills

utilize may suggest the discovery of a new, profitable, or practical use for something.

- an old wooden bucket utilized as a planter

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

employ

noun em·ploy \ im-ˈplȯi , ˈim-ˌplȯi , ˈem-ˌplȯi \

1 a : use, purpose

b : occupation, job

2 : the state of being employed

in the city's employ

See employ defined for English-language learners

Examples of employ in a Sentence

while you're under our employ, you can't do outside work for our competitors

Recent Examples of employ from the Web

Her whole employ was saying and doing outrageous things to get attention.

— lisa gutierrez, kansascity, ""A teaching moment.' Valerie Jarrett and others respond to 'Roseanne' controversy," 29 May 2018
Among the people Moe and Polly Wiesen probably knew in those days were the Feinsteins, another prominent family in the garment industry, who had a domestic in their employ named Mary Ann Moroney.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer long wondered if he's related to JFK; at 72, he learned the truth," 12 May 2018
But, there are many stupider things written by even smarter people who continue to keep their employs.

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "The Supremacy of the Internet Mob," 19 Apr. 2018
Co-founder Mary Ann McCready had watched during her employ at CBS Records in the 1980s as numerous acts racked up huge paychecks, saved little and kept overspending even after their commercial peak years ended.

— tom roland, Billboard, "Flood, Bumstead And the Country Artist's Conflict: Seeking Wealth While Singing About Poverty," 3 Apr. 2018
Trouble is, the therapist is under the employ of a hospital that has a vested interest in admitting patients for 72-hour holds and draining insurance money from them.

— richard lawson, HWD, "Claire Foy Gives a Star Turn in Harrowing Unsane," 23 Mar. 2018
Patrick once convinced Nanny Marta that their rabbit’s poop was a Milk Dud and had made fun of Marta for eating Bunzo’s poo for the rest of her employ.

— jessica knoll, Glamour, "The Governor’s Daughter Has a Big Problem," 20 Mar. 2018
Those officials believe the routers were compromised by attackers in the employ of the GRU, Russia's largest foreign intelligence agency.

— sean gallagher, Ars Technica, "Russia accused of “false flag” attack on Olympic opening," 26 Feb. 2018
The parent company of Snapchat is planning to trim about 10% of the engineers in its employ, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

— dan gallagher, WSJ, "Snap’s Nip and Tuck," 8 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of employ

1679

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

employ Synonyms

Synonyms

employment, engagement, hire;

Antonyms

joblessness, nonemployment, unemployment;

Near Antonyms

boot, discharge, dismissal, firing, removal, sack, severance;

demotion, suspension;

furlough, layoff, leave, liberty, retirement;

incumbency, tenure;

occupation, place, position, post, situation, work;

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

EMPLOY Defined for English Language Learners

employ

verb

: to use (something) for a particular purpose or to do something
: to use or direct (something, such as your time or effort) in order to achieve a particular goal
: to use or get the services of (someone) to do a particular job