employ en · VERB · etymology 1
Pronunciation
Etymology
From late Middle English emploien, imploien, emplien (“to apply to a specific purpose”), from Anglo-Norman emploier, Old French emploiier (“to entangle, fabricate, to make use of”), ultimately from Latin implicāre (“to infold, entangle, involve, engage”), from in- (“in”) + plicāre (“to fold”). Doublet of imply and implicate.
Meanings
-
To retain (someone) as an employee.
Andrew Houſtoun and Adam Muſhet, being Tackſmen of the Excize, did Imploy Thomas Rue to be their Collector, and gave him a Sallary of 30. pound Sterling for a year.
1668 July 3rd, James Dalrymple, “Thomas Rue contra Andrew Houſtoun” in The Deciſions of the Lords of Council & Seſſion I (Edinburgh, 1683), page 547Our company employs hundreds of people.
The site—which was established in its current form in 2009—employs 60 people and says it gets 12 million visitors a month.
2012 May 24, Farhad Manjoo, “BOMBSHELL: Business Insider Kinda Brilliant”, in Slate, archived from the original on 05 Jun 2023:Charles had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place, but he was not such a whopstraw as to make the least noise in the performance of his duties when his lordship was out of humour.
1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
-
(rare) To provide (someone) with a new job; to hire.
Yesterday our local garage employed a new mechanic.
The management, who were close personal friends, had just employed a new chef.
2004, Jay Rayner, The Apologist, London: Atlantic Books, →ISBN, page 54:
-
To use (someone or something) for a job or task.
This is a day in which the thoughts[…]ought to be employed on serious subjects.
1715 April 9 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Addison, “The Free-holder: No. 29. Tuesday, March 30. [1715.]”, in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; […], volume IV, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], published 1721, →OCLC:Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.
2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200:Whatever they employ, I’ll exploit, make null and void!
2018, Jhariah Clare, “City of Ashes”, in The Great Tale of How I Ruined it All:The burglar employed a jemmy to get in.
That insight may not seem surprising, given war's dampening effects on economic activity. But the research employed a new tool for recognizing the effects.
2015 August 22, John Schwartz, “Study Finds Surprising Byproduct of Middle Eastern Conflicts: Cleaner Air”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2022:Valiant Othello, we muſt straight employ you, / Againſt the generall Enemy Ottoman.
c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 313, column 1:Having lectured the Arab world about democracy for years, its collusion in suppressing freedom was undeniable as protesters were met by weaponry and tear gas made in the west, employed by a military trained by westerners.
2013 June 2, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at the heart of the trial of Bradley Manning”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 May 2023:As to eleemoſynary corporations, by the dotation the founder and his heirs are of common right the legal viſitors, to ſee that that property is rightly employed, which would otherwiſe have deſcended to the viſitor himſelf: […]
1765, William Blackstone, “Of Corporations”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book I (Of the Rights of Persons), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 469:
-
To make busy; to preoccupy.
I heard the woods, and distant waters, roar; / Or heard them not, as happy as a Boy: / The pleasant season did my heart employ:
1815 [1802], William Wordsworth, Resolution and Independence:Let it not enter in your minde of loue: / Be merry, and imploy your chiefeſt thoughts / To courtſhip, and ſuch faire oſtents of loue / As ſhall conueniently become you there;
c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene viii], page 171, column 2:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| imploy | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| employing | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| employed | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| employed | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| employs | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Antonyms
shun · discard · disuse · surrender
Deriveds
malemploy · employable · re-employemployee · nonemploying · reemploy · preemploy · employ a steam engine to crack a nut · disemploy · unemploy · overemploy · employment · misemploy · employed · employless · employer
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
Relateds
employé · manipulate · implicate · imply · apply
Synonyms
apply · utilize · brook · exploit · make use · employ · take advantage of · busy · use · appoint · commission · ply · exercise · put to use · wield · utilize · handle · spend · bestow · suborn · commit · use · occupy · apply
Translations (93)
ru трудоустро́ить (to give someone work) · id memakai (to put into use) · sv använda (to put into use) · el χρησιμοποιώ (to put into use) · sw -ajiri (to give someone work) · pt contratar (to give someone work) · fi käyttää (to put into use) · fr embaucher (to give someone work) · no ansette (to give someone work) · uk працевлаштувати (to give someone work) · ja 雇う (to give someone work) · ga bain úsáid as (to put into use) · ru употребля́ть (to put into use) · hi इस्तेमाल करना (to give someone work) · uk найняти на роботу (to give someone work) · sv anställa (to give someone work) · mi whakamahi (to give someone work) · bg употребявам (to put into use) · pl zatrudniać (to give someone work) · it impiegare (to give someone work) · vi dùng (to give someone work) · gl alugar (to give someone work) · de verwenden (to put into use) · ru трудоустра́ивать (to give someone work) · de benutzen (to put into use) · fi työllistää (to give someone work) · vo (professionally)) cälön (to give someone work) · bg наемам (to give someone work) · txb yaukk- (to put into use) · it impiegare (to put into use) · io uzar (to put into use) · vi mướn (to give someone work) · gd fastaidh (to give someone work) · km ជួល (to give someone work) · eo dungi (to give someone work) · uk використо́вувати (to put into use) · gl empregar (to give someone work) · uk наймати на роботу (to give someone work) · es emplear (to give someone work) · vi dùng (to put into use) · sv begagna (to put into use) · de anstellen (to give someone work) · ga fostaigh (to give someone work) · fr recruter (to give someone work) · la utor (to put into use) · is ráða (to give someone work) · hu alkalmaz (to give someone work) · es emplear (to put into use) · fi palkata (to give someone work) · ast emplegar (to give someone work) · nl tewerkstellen (to give someone work) · vo (nonprofessionally) vobükön (to give someone work) · pl zatrudnić (to give someone work) · cmn 雇傭 (to give someone work) · ja 雇用する (to give someone work) · cs zaměstnat (to give someone work) · fr employer (to put into use) · id mempekerjakan (to give someone work) · mi whakamahi (to put into use) · cy cyflogi (to give someone work) · ro angaja (to put into use) · de einstellen (to give someone work) · io employar (to give someone work) · el απασχολώ (to give someone work) · ja 使用する (to put into use) · uk працевлаштовувати (to give someone work) · izh palkata (to give someone work) · de anwerben (to give someone work) · pt empregar (to put into use) · bg давам работа (to give someone work) · fi ottaa töihin (to give someone work) · gd iomair (to put into use) · ar وَظَّفَ (to give someone work) · fr utiliser (to put into use) · de einsetzen (to put into use) · th จ้าง (to give someone work) · cmn 雇 (to give someone work) · fr employer (to give someone work) · ru наня́ть (to give someone work) · tr işe almak (to give someone work) · ru нанима́ть (to give someone work) · ko 고용하다 (to give someone work) · ro angaja (to give someone work) · hi नियुक्त करना (to give someone work) · it ingaggiare (to give someone work) · ru испо́льзовать (to put into use) · da ansætte (to give someone work) · sl zaposliti (to give someone work) · uk вжива́ти (to put into use) · ja 使う (to put into use) · ang brūcan (to put into use) · cs využít (to put into use) · id menggunakan (to put into use)