employ

A2 Topic:Work & Careers

US /ɪmˈplɔɪ/ See IPA manual

Freq #9268

Meanings

1

verb
To pay someone to work for you

Our company employs hundreds of people.
2

verb
To use something for a particular purpose

The burglar employed a crowbar to force the door open.
3

noun
The state of working for someone or being employed

The school district has six thousand teachers in its employ.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to pay someone to work for you hire

2 verb · to use something for a... use utilize apply

3 noun · the state of working for... employment

More appoint bestow brook commission commit exercise exploit handle ply spend suborn

Opposites

discard disuse shun surrender

Word family

Forms employdemployedemployingemploys

Derived forms disemployemployableemployedemployeremploylessemploymentmalemploymisemploynonemployingoveremploypreemployre-employemployee

Related forms apply implicate imply manipulate

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.

*pleḱ- Proto-Indo-European emploien Middle English emploier xno emploiier Old French implicō Latin

View etymology graph ->

External links

# employ

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ɪmˈplɔɪ/
**Frequency rank:** 9268

## Meanings
1. To pay someone to work for you
2. To use something for a particular purpose
3. The state of working for someone or being employed

## Examples
- Our company employs hundreds of people.
- The burglar employed a crowbar to force the door open.
- The school district has six thousand teachers in its employ.

## Synonyms
- apply
- appoint
- bestow
- brook
- commission
- commit
- exercise
- exploit
- handle
- ply
- spend
- suborn

## Antonyms
- discard
- disuse
- shun
- surrender

## Derived Forms
- disemploy
- employable
- employed
- employer
- employless
- employment
- malemploy
- misemploy
- nonemploying
- overemploy
- preemploy
- re-employemployee

## Related Forms
- apply
- implicate
- imply
- manipulate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *pleḱ-
- Root: emploien
- Root: emploier
- Root: emploiier
- Root: implicō
- Affix: em- - in, into

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Employ comes 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. In current use, the main senses are “To pay someone to work for you” and “To use something for a particular purpose”.

## Topics
- Work & Careers

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employ

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