employ

A2 Topic:Actions & Processes

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.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

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 ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

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
- Actions & Processes

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