employ

noun

The state of being an employee; employment.

(archaic) An occupation.

(obsolete) The act of employing someone or making use of something; employment.

verb

To retain (someone) as an employee.

To use (someone or something) for a job or task.

To make busy; to preoccupy.

(rare) To provide (someone) with a new job; to hire.

Roots

plico-ploy · Latin · fold

Synonyms for employ

hirev utilizev usen employmentn engagev applyv recruitv operatev preengage enlistv undertakev

Synonyms & related words for employ

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of employ — including hire, utilize, use, employment, engage, apply. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to employ

Explore words related to employ — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include misemploy, reemploy, unlimber, employable, rehire, underemployed, reemployment, employers. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for employ

Common synonyms for employ include hire, utilize, use, employment, engage, apply, recruit, operate — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does employ come from?

The word employ breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root -ploy, from Latin plico (“fold”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.