employ
Plural: employs
Noun
- the state of being employed or having a job
- "they are looking for employment"
- "he was in the employ of the city"
- The state of being an employee; employment.
- An occupation.
- The act of employing someone or making use of something; employment.
Verb
Verb Forms: employed, employing, employs
- To make use of; to hire for work.
- put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose
- engage or hire for work
- "How many people has she employed?"
- To retain (someone) as an employee.
- To provide (someone) with a new job; to hire.
- To use (someone or something) for a job or task.
- To make busy; to preoccupy.
Examples
- He decided to EMPLOY his ’Z’ tile in a high-scoring corner.
- Our company employs hundreds of people.
- The burglar employed a jemmy to get in.
- The school district has six thousand teachers in its employ.
- Yesterday our local garage employed a new mechanic.
Origin / 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.
Synonyms
apply, employment, engage, hire, use, utilise, utilize, appoint, bestow, brook, busy, commission, commit, employ, exercise, exploit, handle, make use, occupy, ply, put to use, spend, suborn, take advantage of, wield
Scrabble Score: 13
employ: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordemploy: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
employ: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary