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

• 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

The median of the total annual compensation of all Meta employees other than Zuckerberg was $417,400 last year. —Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 27 June 2025

According to Microsoft Outlook's productivity report, employees average 6.6 hours of overtime per week. —Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025

Texas has now already surpassed New York as the largest base of its workers with 30,000 employees there, and with another 15,000 based in Miami. —Time, 26 June 2025

About 60% of U.S.-based employees are expected to be put in foreign posts if the layoffs and rearrangements take effect within the coming weeks. —Morgan Kromer, The Washington Examiner, 26 June 2025

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.