/ ɪmˈplɔɪ; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
1.
employ sb (as sth) to give sb a job to do for payment :
[ vn ]
How many people does the company employ?
For the past three years he has been employed as a firefighter.
[ vn to inf ]
A number of people have been employed to deal with the backlog of work.
—see also self-employed , unemployed
2.
[ vn ] ( formal ) to use sth such as a skill, method, etc. for a particular purpose :
He criticized the repressive methods employed by the country's government.
The police had to employ force to enter the building.
•
IDIOMS
- be employed in doing sth
■ noun
[ U ]
•
IDIOMS
- in sb's employ | in the employ of sb
••
WORD ORIGIN
late 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 .