employ
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em·ploy
(ĕm-ploi′)tr.v. em·ployed, em·ploy·ing, em·ploys
1.
a. To provide work to (someone) for pay: agreed to employ the job applicant.
b. To engage the attention or activity of; occupy: employed himself for an hour reading blogs.
2. To put (something) to use or service: employed a pen to open the package; employed her skills in the new job.
3. To devote (time, for example) to an activity or purpose: employed several months in learning Swahili.
n.
1. The state of being employed: in the employ of the city.
2. Archaic An occupation.
[Middle English emploien, from Old French emploier, from Latin implicāre, to involve : in-, in; see en-1 + plicāre, to fold; see plek- in Indo-European roots.]
em·ploy′a·bil′i·ty n.
em·ploy′a·ble adj.
em·ploy′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
employ
(ɪmˈplɔɪ)vb (tr)
1. (Industrial Relations & HR Terms) to engage or make use of the services of (a person) in return for money; hire
2. to provide work or occupation for; keep busy; occupy: collecting stamps employs a lot of his time.
3. to use as a means: to employ secret measures to get one's ends.
n
(Industrial Relations & HR Terms) the state of being employed (esp in the phrase in someone's employ)
[C15: from Old French emploier, from Latin implicāre to entangle, engage, from plicāre to fold]
emˈployable adj
emˌployaˈbility n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
em•ploy
(ɛmˈplɔɪ)v.t.
1. to engage the services of (a person or persons); hire.
2. to make use of for a specific task: employed computers to solve the problem.
3. to devote (time, energies, etc.) to a particular activity.
n. 4. employment; service.
[1425–75; < Middle French emploier « Latin implicāre to enfold]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
employ
– use1. 'employ'
If you employ someone, you pay them to work for you.
The company employs 7.5 million people.
He was employed as a research assistant.
If something is employed for a particular purpose, it is used for that purpose. You can say, for example, that a particular method or technique is employed.
A number of ingenious techniques are employed.
The methods employed are varied, depending on the material in question.
You can also say that a machine, tool, or weapon is employed.
Similar technology could be employed in the major cities.
What matters most is how the tools are employed.
2. 'use'
However, employ is a formal word when it is used to talk about such things as methods or tools. You usually say that a method or tool is used.
This method has been extensively used in the United States.
These weapons are used in training sessions.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
employ
Past participle: employed
Gerund: employing
| Imperative |
|---|
| employ |
| employ |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  employ - the state of being employed or having a job; "they are looking for employment"; "he was in the employ of the city"state - the way something is with respect to its main attributes; "the current state of knowledge"; "his state of health"; "in a weak financial state" |
| Verb | 1. |  employ - put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose; "use your head!"; "we only use Spanish at home"; "I can't use this tool"; "Apply a magnetic field here"; "This thinking was applied to many projects"; "How do you utilize this tool?"; "I apply this rule to get good results"; "use the plastic bags to store the food"; "He doesn't know how to use a computer"dedicate, devote, commit, consecrate, give - give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause; "She committed herself to the work of God"; "give one's talents to a good cause"; "consecrate your life to the church" play - employ in a game or in a specific position; "They played him on first base" play - use or move; "I had to play my queen" pull out all the stops - use all resources available; "The organizers pulled out all the stops for the centennial meeting" put, assign - attribute or give; "She put too much emphasis on her the last statement"; "He put all his efforts into this job"; "The teacher put an interesting twist to the interpretation of the story" ply - use diligently; "ply your wits!" address - address or apply oneself to something, direct one's efforts towards something, such as a question waste - use inefficiently or inappropriately; "waste heat"; "waste a joke on an unappreciative audience" misapply, misuse - apply to a wrong thing or person; apply badly or incorrectly; "The words are misapplied in this context"; "You are misapplying the name of this religious group" avail - use to one's advantage; "He availed himself of the available resources" cannibalise, cannibalize - use parts of something to repair something else exploit, work - use or manipulate to one's advantage; "He exploit the new taxation system"; "She knows how to work the system"; "he works his parents for sympathy" strain, extend - use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity; "He really extended himself when he climbed Kilimanjaro"; "Don't strain your mind too much" enjoy - have benefit from; "enjoy privileges" take - travel or go by means of a certain kind of transportation, or a certain route; "He takes the bus to work"; "She takes Route 1 to Newark" share - use jointly or in common put to work, work - cause to work; "he is working his servants hard" implement - apply in a manner consistent with its purpose or design; "implement a procedure" |
| 2. | employ - engage or hire for work; "They hired two new secretaries in the department"; "How many people has she employed?" featherbed - hire more workers than are necessary fill - appoint someone to (a position or a job) engage - ask to represent; of legal counsel; "I'm retaining a lawyer" ship - hire for work on a ship sign on, sign up, contract, sign - engage by written agreement; "They signed two new pitchers for the next season" rat - employ scabs or strike breakers in |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
employ
verb
1. hire, commission, appoint, take on, retain, engage, recruit, sign up, enlist, enrol, have on the payroll The company employs 18 staff.
2. use, apply, exercise, exert, make use of, utilize, ply, bring to bear, put to use, bring into play, avail yourself of the approaches and methods we employed in this study
3. spend, fill, occupy, involve, engage, take up, make use of, use up Your time could be usefully employed in attending to business matters.
in the employ of or in someone's employ in the service of, employed by, hired by, engaged by, in the payroll of They hinted that he was in the employ of the KGB.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
employ
verb3. To put into action or use:
1. The state of being employed:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يُشَغِّليُشْغِليُشْغِلُ، يَسْتَفيد منيُوَظِّفُ
zaměstnat
ansætteanvendebeskæftigebruge
palkata
zaposliti
foglalkoztat
notaráîa til starfavera upptekinn
雇用する
고용하다
darbdavysdarbuotojasdirbantispasamdytisamdyti
algotizmantotnodarbinātnodarbotiespavadīt laiku
zaposliti
anställa
ว่าจ้าง
thuê người
employ
[ɪmˈplɔɪ]Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
employ
[ɪmˈplɔɪ] vt
(in a job) → employer
The factory employs 600 people → L'usine emploie six cents personnes.
He's employed in a bank
BUT Il est employé de banque.
to be employed as sth → être employé en tant que
He was employed as a technician → Il était employé en tant que technicien.
see also self-employed
The factory employs 600 people → L'usine emploie six cents personnes.
He's employed in a bank
BUT Il est employé de banque.
to be employed as sth → être employé en tant que
He was employed as a technician → Il était employé en tant que technicien.
see also self-employed
n
to be in sb's employ → être au service de qn
to be in sb's employ → être au service de qn
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
employ
vt
person → beschäftigen; (= take on) → anstellen; private detective → beauftragen; he has been employed with us for 15 years → er ist schon seit 15 Jahren bei uns
(= use) means, method, tactics, skill, force, cunning → anwenden, einsetzen; word, concept → verwenden; time → verbringen; you can surely find a better way of employing your time → Sie können doch bestimmt Besseres mit Ihrer Zeit anfangen; they employed the services of a chemist to help them → sie zogen einen Chemiker heran, um ihnen zu helfen
to be employed in doing something → damit beschäftigt sein, etw zu tun
n to be in the employ of somebody (form) → bei jdm beschäftigt sein, in jds Diensten stehen (geh)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
employ
[ɪmˈplɔɪ]1. vt (give job to) → dare lavoro a, impiegare; (appoint) → assumere; (make use of, thing, method, person) → servirsi di, impiegare; (time) → impiegare
he's employed in a bank → lavora in banca
we employed a painter to decorate the house → ci siamo serviti di un imbianchino per pitturare la casa
he's employed in a bank → lavora in banca
we employed a painter to decorate the house → ci siamo serviti di un imbianchino per pitturare la casa
2. n (frm) in the employ of sb → alle dipendenze di qn
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
employ
(imˈploi) verb1. to give (especially paid) work to. He employs three typists; She is employed as a teacher.
2. to occupy the time or attention of. She was busily employed (in) writing letters.
3. to make use of. You should employ your time better.
emˈployed adjective having a job; working.
emˈployee, ˌemployˈee (em-) noun a person employed for wages, a salary etc. That firm has fifty employees.
emˈployer noun a person who employs others. His employer dismissed him.
emˈployment noun the act of employing or state of being employed. She was in my employment; This will give employment to more men.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
employ
→ يُوَظِّفُ zaměstnat ansætte beschäftigen προσλαμβάνω emplear palkata employer zaposliti impiegare 雇用する 고용하다 in dienst nemen ansette zatrudnić empregar нанимать anställa ว่าจ้าง işe almak thuê người 雇用Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
employ
vt emplearEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.