employ

English

Alternative forms

• imploy (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French employer, from Latin implicare (“to infold, involve, engage”), from in (“in”) + plicare (“to fold”). Compare imply and implicate, which are doublets of employ .

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪmˈplɔɪ/, /ɛmˈplɔɪ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  Rhymes: -ɔɪ

Noun

employ (plural employs)

1. The state of being an employee; employment.

   The school district has six thousand teachers in its employ.

Synonyms

• employment
• hire

Verb

employ (third-person singular simple present employs, present participle employing, simple past and past participle employed)

1. to hire (somebody for work or a job)
   • 1668 July 3rd, James Dalrymple, “Thomas Rue contra Andrew Houſtoun” in The Deciſions of the Lords of Council & Seſſion I (Edinburgh, 1683), page 547

     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.

2. to use (a person for a job)
   • 1598, William Shakespeare, Othello, Act 1, Scene iii:

     Valiant Othello, we must straight employ you / against the general enemy Ottoman.

3. to make busy
   • 1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act 2, Scene viii:

     Let it not enter in your mind of love: / Be merry, and employ your chiefest thoughts / to courtship and such fair ostents of love / as shall conveniently become you there

Derived terms

• employee
• employer
• employment

Translations

to give someone work

• American Sign Language: OpenB@DistalSideChesthigh-PalmAcross RoundVert OpenB@DistalInsideTrunkhigh-PalmUp RoundHoriz OpenB@NearCenterTrunkhigh-PalmUp
• Arabic: استخدم (ar) (istákhdama), شغل (ar) (shághghala), استعمل (ar) (istá3mala)
• Bulgarian: наемам (bg) (naemam), давам работа (bg) (davam rabota)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 雇傭 (cmn), 雇佣 (cmn) (gùyōng), 雇 (cmn) (gù)

• Czech: zaměstnat (cs)
• Danish: ansætte (da)
• Dutch: tewerkstellen (nl)
• Esperanto: dungi (eo)
• Finnish: palkata (fi), työllistää (fi), ottaa työhön (fi)
• French: employer (fr), embaucher (fr), recruter (fr)
• German: einstellen (de), anstellen (de), anwerben (de)
• Greek: απασχολώ (el) (apascholó)

• Hungarian: alkalmaz (hu)
• Irish: fostaigh (ga)
• Italian: impiegare (it), ingaggiare (it)
• Japanese: 雇う (ja) (やとう, yatou), 雇用する (ja) (こようする, koyō-suru)
• Norwegian: ansette (no)
• Portuguese: contratar (pt)
• Romanian: angaja (ro)
• Russian: нанимать (ru) (nanimát') impf., нанять (ru) (nanját') pf., трудоустраивать (ru) (trudoustráivat') impf., трудоустроить (ru) (trudoustróit') pf.
• Scottish Gaelic: fastaidh (gd)
• Slovene: zaposliti (sl)
• Spanish: contratar (es), emplear (es)
• Swedish: anställa (sv)
• Volapük: (nonprofessionally) vobükön (vo), (professionally)) cälön (vo)

to put into use

• Arabic: وظف (ar) (Wathafa) m and f
• Bulgarian: употребявам (bg) (upotrebjavam)
• Czech: využít (cs)
• Finnish: käyttää (fi)
• German: einsetzen (de), verwenden (de)
• Greek: χρησιμοποιώ (el) (chrisimopoió)
• Irish: bain úsáid as (ga)
• Italian: impiegare (it)

• Japanese: 使う (tsukau); 使用する (siyō-suru) (formal use)
• Portuguese: empregar (pt)
• Romanian: angaja (ro)
• Russian: использовать (ru) (ispolʹzovatʹ), употреблять (ru) (upotrebljatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: iomair (gd)
• Spanish: emplear (es)
• Swedish: använda (sv), begagna (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

External links

• employ in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• employ in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• employ at OneLook Dictionary Search