Definition of "employ" in English

verb

1. To retain (someone) as an employee.

   • Our company employs hundreds of people.
   • 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. (rare) To provide (someone) with a new job; to hire.

   • Yesterday our local garage employed a new mechanic.

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

   • The burglar employed a jemmy to get in.

4. To make busy; to preoccupy.

noun

1. The state of being an employee; employment.

   • The school district has six thousand teachers in its employ.

2. (archaic) An occupation.

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