Word family noun employee employer employment ≠ unemployment unemployed employ adjective employed ≠ unemployed employable ≠ unemployable verb employ
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishemployem‧ploy1 /ɪmˈplɔɪ/ ●●● S3 W2 verb [transitive] 1 BEJOB/WORKto pay someone to work for you The factory employs over 2,000 people.employ somebody as something Kelly is employed as a mechanic.employ somebody to do something We have been employed to look at ways of reducing waste.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say give someone a job rather than employ someone, and have a job rather than be employed:They gave him a job delivering furniture.He has a job at the factory.2 USE somethingto use a particular object, method, skill etc in order to achieve somethingemploy a method/technique/tactic etc The report examines teaching methods employed in the classroom.► see thesaurus at useRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say use a method rather than employ a method.3 formalJOB/TASK to spend your time doing a particular thingbe employed in (doing) something Her days are employed in gardening and voluntary work.Grammar Employ is usually passive in this meaning.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
employ• It produces 340 drugs and cosmetic products, including penicillin, antibiotics and aspirins. and employs 3,900 people.• Falkman employed a freelance expert to assist it.• The volatility of their earnings also made it hard for them to deal with the liability concerns raised by employing a student.• If you want to employ an attractive secretary how attractive does she have to be?• I was employed as a night-watchman by the local hospital.• Its principles could be employed by communities, too.• Anyone who might be interested in employing her should contact me.• Since he came out of prison no one will employ him.• The training plan Considerable effort and expense were employed in providing information and training to help boards get established.• The equipment employs laser beams to make the computer chips.• We have lively discussions which pleasantly employ our time and our thoughts.• A conservative policy implies that the firm is less aggressive in minimizing current assets and employing short-term debt.employ somebody as something• Kelly is currently employed as a motorcycle mechanic.employ a method/technique/tactic etc• Guthrie, on the other hand, employs a method designed to draw a composite.• In order to do this, we have to employ a method of understanding rooted in scientific principles that are universally accepted.• The many hours on the road give cyclists the opportunity to employ tactics varying from the subtle to the murderous.• To understand appearances we must therefore employ a method which gives us access to the underlying meanings, etc.be employed in (doing) something• By 1986 there were estimated to be about half as many people in informal work as are employed in the formal sector.• Landless peasants suited Doumer; they could be employed in mines or on rubber plantations, or to build roads and railways.• Some are employed in processing fish, such as canning and freezing, while others are manning and servicing the trawlers.• At the peak of the sugar-boom of the early 1870s a mere 40,000 workers were employed in the Czech sugar-factories.• The numbers to be employed in the raid provided something of a problem.• Inspectors, for the most part, are employed in the regions where they grew up.employemploy2 noun → in somebody’s employExamples from the Corpus
employ• The simple fact that he was in her husband's employ gave her an advantage over him.From Longman Business Dictionaryemployem‧ploy /ɪmˈplɔɪ/ verb [transitive]HUMAN RESOURCES to pay someone to work for youThe company employs 2000 people worldwide.employ somebody as somethingHe is employed as a baggage handler at the airport.employ somebody to do somethingWe have employed consultants to look at ways of reducing waste. – If you employ or hire someone, you give them a job and pay them for the work they do She was hired as marketing director for a biotechnology firm. If you appoint someone, you choose them for a job, especially an important job Mr Schreiber has been appointed director of human resources. If you recruit people, you find new people to work for a company or organization It’s getting more and more difficult to recruit experienced staff. If you headhunt someone, you find a manager with the right skills and experience to do a particular job, often by persuading a suitable person to leave their present job rather than inviting people to apply for the job Rick was headhunted to become finance director of the company.→ See Verb tableOrigin employ1 (1400-1500) French emploier “to use”, from Latin implicare; → IMPLICATE 