employ | | |
n. (state) | 1. employ, employment | the state of being employed or having a job.; "they are looking for employment"; "he was in the employ of the city" |
| ~ state | the way something is with respect to its main attributes.; "the current state of knowledge"; "his state of health"; "in a weak financial state" |
v. (consumption) | 2. apply, employ, use, utilise, utilize | put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose.; "use your head!"; "we only use Spanish at home"; "I can't use this tool"; "Apply a magnetic field here"; "This thinking was applied to many projects"; "How do you utilize this tool?"; "I apply this rule to get good results"; "use the plastic bags to store the food"; "He doesn't know how to use a computer" |
| ~ dedicate, devote, commit, consecrate, give | give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause.; "She committed herself to the work of God"; "give one's talents to a good cause"; "consecrate your life to the church" |
| ~ play | employ in a game or in a specific position.; "They played him on first base" |
| ~ play | use or move.; "I had to play my queen" |
| ~ pull out all the stops | use all resources available.; "The organizers pulled out all the stops for the centennial meeting" |
| ~ put, assign | attribute or give.; "She put too much emphasis on her the last statement"; "He put all his efforts into this job"; "The teacher put an interesting twist to the interpretation of the story" |
| ~ ply | use diligently.; "ply your wits!" |
| ~ address | address or apply oneself to something, direct one's efforts towards something, such as a question. |
| ~ waste | use inefficiently or inappropriately.; "waste heat"; "waste a joke on an unappreciative audience" |
| ~ misapply, misuse | apply to a wrong thing or person; apply badly or incorrectly.; "The words are misapplied in this context"; "You are misapplying the name of this religious group" |
| ~ avail | use to one's advantage.; "He availed himself of the available resources" |
| ~ overuse, overdrive | make use of too often or too extensively. |
| ~ cannibalise, cannibalize | use parts of something to repair something else. |
| ~ reprocess, reuse, recycle | use again after processing.; "We must recycle the cardboard boxes" |
| ~ exploit, work | use or manipulate to one's advantage.; "He exploit the new taxation system"; "She knows how to work the system"; "he works his parents for sympathy" |
| ~ exploit, tap | draw from; make good use of.; "we must exploit the resources we are given wisely" |
| ~ strain, extend | use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity.; "He really extended himself when he climbed Kilimanjaro"; "Don't strain your mind too much" |
| ~ exercise, exert | put to use.; "exert one's power or influence" |
| ~ enjoy | have benefit from.; "enjoy privileges" |
| ~ take | travel or go by means of a certain kind of transportation, or a certain route.; "He takes the bus to work"; "She takes Route 1 to Newark" |
| ~ share | use jointly or in common. |
| ~ put to work, work | cause to work.; "he is working his servants hard" |
| ~ implement | apply in a manner consistent with its purpose or design.; "implement a procedure" |
| ~ practice, use, apply | avail oneself to.; "apply a principle"; "practice a religion"; "use care when going down the stairs"; "use your common sense"; "practice non-violent resistance" |
| ~ resort, recur, fall back | have recourse to.; "The government resorted to rationing meat" |
| ~ go for, apply, hold | be pertinent or relevant or applicable.; "The same laws apply to you!"; "This theory holds for all irrational numbers"; "The same rules go for everyone" |
v. (social) | 3. employ, engage, hire | engage or hire for work.; "They hired two new secretaries in the department"; "How many people has she employed?" |
| ~ featherbed | hire more workers than are necessary. |
| ~ fill | appoint someone to (a position or a job). |
| ~ engage | ask to represent; of legal counsel.; "I'm retaining a lawyer" |
| ~ ship | hire for work on a ship. |
| ~ sign on, sign up, contract, sign | engage by written agreement.; "They signed two new pitchers for the next season" |
| ~ rat | employ scabs or strike breakers in. |
| ~ farm out, subcontract, job | arranged for contracted work to be done by others. |
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