employ verb
1 pay sb to work
ADV. directly, indirectly By 1960 the arms industry in America directly employed 3.5 million people.
PREP. in A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.
PHRASES be fully employed 10% of 10?15-year-old girls were fully employed as late as 1911. | be gainfully employed Those not gainfully employed are dependent on their savings. | be permanently/temporarily employed, be regularly/irregularly employed
2 use
ADV. commonly, extensively, frequently, often, widely The safety net is an image commonly employed in everyday life. | generally, usually | actively, deliberately teaching that actively employs computers in innovative and fruitful ways | successfully, usefully
VERB + EMPLOY can/could The army has far more junior officers than it can usefully employ.
3 be employed: be busy doing sth
ADV. better You'd be far better employed taking care of your own affairs. | busily, usefully
PREP. in Will and Joe were busily employed in clearing out all the furniture.
You can also check other dicts: employ (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition