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Employ   /ɛmplˈɔɪ/  /ɪmplˈɔɪ/   Listen
verb
Employ  v. t.  (past & past part. employed; pres. part. employing)  
1.
To inclose; to infold. (Obs.)
2.
To use; to have in service; to cause to be engaged in doing something; often followed by in, about, on, or upon, and sometimes by to; as:
(a)
To make use of, as an instrument, a means, a material, etc., for a specific purpose; to apply; as, to employ the pen in writing, bricks in building, words and phrases in speaking; to employ the mind; to employ one's energies. "This is a day in which the thoughts... ought to be employed on serious subjects."
(b)
To occupy; as, to employ time in study.
(c)
To have or keep at work; to give employment or occupation to; to intrust with some duty or behest; as, to employ a hundred workmen; to employ an envoy. "Jonathan... and Jahaziah... were employed about this matter." "Thy vineyard must employ the sturdy steer To turn the glebe."
To employ one's self, to apply or devote one's time and attention; to busy one's self.
Synonyms: To use; busy; apply; exercise; occupy; engross; engage. See Use.



noun
Employ  n.  That which engages or occupies a person; fixed or regular service or business; employment. "The whole employ of body and of mind."
In one's employ, in one's service.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Employ" Quotes from Famous Books



... bearest in thy heart thy faithful followers—if all thy prayers in their behalf are heard—make mine ascend before the God of Justice! And since all the wisdom of the world could not untie the fatal knot in which we are bound, be pleased to employ in this work ...
— Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers • Various

... factor in the experiments. If the dancer could acquire a perfect habit as a result of twelve days' training, no matter whether two, five, ten, or twenty tests were given daily, it would, of course, be economical of time for the experimenter to employ the two-test method. But if, on the contrary, the two-test method required twice as many days' training as the five-test method, it would be economical for him to use the five-test method despite the fact that he would have to give a larger ...
— The Dancing Mouse - A Study in Animal Behavior • Robert M. Yerkes

... an idea of civilization, Frank. In countries where women are dependent upon men, leaving to them the work of providing for the family and home, while they employ themselves in domestic duties and in brightening the lives of the men, they are treated with respect. But as their work becomes rougher, so does the position which they occupy in men's esteem fall. Among the middle and upper classes throughout ...
— By Sheer Pluck - A Tale of the Ashanti War • G. A. Henty

... of Margineni, and they are entitled to four-tenths of the products of their labour. In the correctional prisons the convicts cultivate the soil, make bricks, &c., and are entitled to half their wages. In all the prisons the convicts are permitted to employ their leisure time in making articles of use or ornament from materials furnished to them by the authorities, which are sold to visitors, and the State gives them a proportion of the fruits of their industry. (These articles we found to be beautifully made. They consist of egg-cups, paper-knives, ...
— Roumania Past and Present • James Samuelson

... man, married, with two young children, who was wicked enough to go into a neighboring county to a "Union Meeting", and who was, further, wicked enough to talk about it when he returned. He became a marked man; no farmer would employ him. He tramped about vainly, looking for work, grew reckless, and took to drink. Visiting his cottage one day I found his wife ill, a dead child in the bed, a sick child in her arms; yes, she "was pining; there was no work to be had". ...
— Autobiographical Sketches • Annie Besant


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