employ
verb/ɪmˈplɔɪ/
/ɪmˈplɔɪ/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they employ | /ɪmˈplɔɪ/ /ɪmˈplɔɪ/ |
| he / she / it employs | /ɪmˈplɔɪz/ /ɪmˈplɔɪz/ |
| past simple employed | /ɪmˈplɔɪd/ /ɪmˈplɔɪd/ |
| past participle employed | /ɪmˈplɔɪd/ /ɪmˈplɔɪd/ |
| -ing form employing | /ɪmˈplɔɪɪŋ/ /ɪmˈplɔɪɪŋ/ |
- to give somebody a job to do for payment
- employ somebody How many people does the company employ?
- His company currently employs 135 workers in total.
- We employ 16 full-time staff.
- employ somebody as something For the past three years he has been employed as a firefighter.
- employ somebody in something Twenty eight per cent of the workforce is employed in agriculture.
- employ somebody on something From 1510 he was employed on projects for the emperor.
- employ somebody to do something A number of people have been employed to deal with the backlog of work.
Collocations JobsJobsGetting a jobsee also self-employed, unemployed- look for work
- look for/apply for/go for a job
- get/pick up/complete/fill out/ (British English) fill in an application (form)
- send/email your (British English) CV/(North American English) résumé/application/application form/covering letter
- be called for/have/attend an interview
- offer somebody a job/work/employment/promotion
- find/get/land a job
- employ/ (especially North American English) hire/recruit/ (especially British English) take on staff/workers/trainees
- recruit/appoint a manager
- arrive at/get to/leave work/the office/the factory
- start/finish work/your shift
- do/put in/work overtime
- have/gain/get/lack/need experience/qualifications
- do/get/have/receive training
- learn/pick up/improve/develop (your) skills
- cope with/manage/share/spread the workload
- improve your/achieve a better work-life balance
- have (no) job satisfaction/job security
- have a job/work/a career/a vocation
- find/follow/pursue/ (especially North American English) live (out) your vocation
- enter/go into/join a profession
- choose/embark on/start/begin/pursue a career
- change jobs/profession/career
- be/ (both especially British English) work/go freelance
- do/take on temp work/freelance work
- do/be engaged in/be involved in voluntary work
- leave/ (especially North American English) quit/resign from your job
- give up work/your job/your career
- hand in your notice/resignation
- plan to/be due to retire in June/next year, etc.
- take early retirement
Extra ExamplesTopics Businessa2, Jobsa2- By 1960 the arms industry directly employed 3.5 million people.
- Mark is currently employed as a Professor of Linguistics.
- The army has far more junior officers than it can usefully employ.
- Those not gainfully employed are dependent on their savings.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- actively
- directly
- indirectly
- …
- in
- be fully employed
- be gainfully employed
- be permanently employed
- …
- (formal) to use something such as a skill, method, etc. for a particular purpose
- employ something to employ a technique/strategy/tactic
- He criticized the repressive methods employed by the country's government.
- The police had to employ force to enter the building.
- employ something for something Steel is employed for the lightweight frame.
- employ something as something She employs fiction as a means to explore current social theories.
- employ something to do something This phrase is routinely employed to describe the president's style of government.
Extra Examples- the tactics employed by the police
- teaching that actively employs computers in innovative and fruitful ways
- When properly employed, non-lethal weapons will save lives.
- The safety net is an image commonly employed in everyday life.
- Some teachers employ more traditional methods.
- Self-checkout terminals are increasingly employed by retailers.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- commonly
- extensively
- frequently
- …
Word Originlate Middle English (formerly also as imploy): from Old French employer, based on Latin implicari ‘be involved in or attached to’, passive form of implicare, from in- ‘in’ + plicare ‘to fold’. In the 16th and 17th cent. the word also had the senses ‘enfold, entangle’ and ‘imply’, derived directly from Latin; compare with implicate.
Idioms
See employ in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee employ in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe employed (in) doing something
- if a person or their time is employed in doing something, the person spends time doing that thing
- She was employed in making a list of all the jobs to be done.
Extra Examples- Will and Joe were busily employed in clearing out all the furniture.
- Your time would be better employed doing something else.
- You'd be far better employed taking care of your own affairs.
Check pronunciation:
employ