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Added 3 October 2026

employ

/ɪmˈplɔɪ/ verb

In Latin: utor Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about employ at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To retain (someone) as an employee.
Our company employs hundreds of people.
To provide (someone) with a new job; to hire.
Yesterday our local garage employed a new mechanic.
To use (someone or something) for a job or task.
The burglar employed a jemmy to get in.

noun

The state of being an employee; employment.
The school district has six thousand teachers in its employ.
An occupation.
The act of employing someone or making use of something; employment.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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