Reading Theme:

Language:

Font Size:

📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Employ: Definition, Usage & Common Errors (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：hire (employ)

employ 🔊

/ɪmˈplɔɪ/

n./vt.

to pay someone to work for you.

hire 🔊

➕

/haɪər/

n./vt.

To give someone a job and pay them for their work.

📁 Category：Social Economy 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'implicare' (to involve), via Old French 'employer', meaning to engage or use.

💡 Mnemonic

Recall 'employ' rhymes with 'deploy'; both involve putting resources to use.

📖 Example

The new café decided to employ three baristas to serve their specialty coffee. 🔊 The new café made the decision to hire three baristas for their coffee service.

🔗 Collocations

employ staff – to hire employees for work

be employed full-time – to work in a job with complete working hours

employ someone as – to hire someone for a specific position or role

🔄 Synonyms

hire (vt.) – to take on someone for employment in return for payment

recruit (vt.) – to enlist or enroll people for work or service

engage (vt.) – to arrange to employ someone formally

🚫 Antonyms

dismiss (vt.) – to remove someone from employment or service

lay off (vt.) – to terminate someone's employment, often temporarily

fire (vt.) – to dismiss someone from a job forcefully

🌱 Derivatives

employee (n.) – a person who is employed by another

employer (n.) – a person or organization that employs people

employment (n.) – the state of having a paid job or being employed

📖 Cultural Story

The word 'employ' originates from Latin 'implicare', entering English via Old French. It evolved to mean 'to hire' or 'to use', commonly used in business and legal contexts for formal engagement.

Meaning 2：use (employ)

employ 🔊

/ɪmˈplɔɪ/

n./vt.

to use a tool, method, or strategy to achieve something.

Visual explanation of 'employ' meaning to use, depicting hands employing tools for woodworking.

use 🔊

➕

/juːz/

n./vt.

To make use of a tool, method, or strategy to accomplish a specific goal.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

The chef will employ a special cutting technique to make the vegetables look like flowers. 🔊 The chef will use a special cutting technique to create flower-shaped vegetables.

🔗 Collocations

employ a technique – to use a specific method or skill

employ resources – to utilize available assets or materials effectively

employ strategy – to apply a planned approach to achieve an objective

🔄 Synonyms

use (vt.) – to employ something for a particular purpose or function

utilize (vt.) – to make practical or effective use of something

apply (vt.) – to put something into operation or practical use

🚫 Antonyms

discard (vt.) – to get rid of something as no longer useful or desirable

neglect (vt.) – to fail to use or care for something properly