employ

/ɪmˈplɔɪ/

//ɪmˈplɔɪ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"employ" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“employ” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,558. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,558
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To retain (someone) as an employee.

Corpus desk

Index EN-employ · employ · English

employ · rank #7,558 · 9 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,558
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH drake

Nearest frequency peer: drake (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “employ”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “employ” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

employ vs empty
67% similar
employ vs employee
75% similar
employ vs employed
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for employ
PropertyValue
Headwordemploy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪmˈplɔɪ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,558
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “employ”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).employlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “drake” (#7,557), “enforce” (#7,559), “disputes” (#7,556). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “employ” is #7,558. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around employ (IPA /ɪmˈplɔɪ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #7,558 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for employ, with forms such as "emlpoy", "emmploy", and "emplloy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "empty", "employee", "employed", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From late Middle English emploien, imploien, emplien (“to apply to a specific purpose”), from Anglo-Norman emploier, Old French emploiier (“to entangle, fabricate, to make use of”), ultimately from Latin implicāre (“to infold, entangle, involve, engage”), f… The correct English form is employ, spelled E-M-P-L-O-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    To retain (someone) as an employee.
  2. 2
    To provide (someone) with a new job; to hire.
  3. 3
    To use (someone or something) for a job or task.
  4. 4
    To make busy; to preoccupy.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how employ appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Our company employs hundreds of people.
  2. 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.

Etymology

From late Middle English emploien, imploien, emplien (“to apply to a specific purpose”), from Anglo-Norman emploier, Old French emploiier (“to entangle, fabricate, to make use of”), ultimately from Latin implicāre (“to infold, entangle, involve, engage”), from in- (“in”) + plicāre (“to fold”). Doublet of imply and implicate.

Synonyms

applyappointbestowbrookcommissioncommitemployexerciseexploithandlemake useplyput to usespendsuborntake advantage ofuseutilizewield

Antonyms

discarddisuseshunsurrender

This word in other languages

contratar(Español)employer(Français)einstellen(Deutsch)contratar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emlpoy
  • emmploy
  • emplloy
  • employy
  • emplyo
  • empoly
  • empploy
  • epmloy
  • meploy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of employ - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

emlpoy2emmploy1emplloy1employy1emplyo2empoly2empploy1epmloy2
Edit distance from "employ"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "employ"?
"employ" is spelled E-M-P-L-O-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪmˈplɔɪ/.
What does "employ" mean?
As a verb, "employ" means: To retain (someone) as an employee.
What words are commonly confused with "employ"?
"employ" is commonly confused with "empty", "employee", "employed". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "employ"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "employ" is /ɪmˈplɔɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "employ"?
From late Middle English emploien, imploien, emplien (“to apply to a specific purpose”), from Anglo-Norman emploier, Old French emploiier (“to entangle, fabricate, to make use of”), ultimately from Latin implicāre (“to infold, entangle, involve, e... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "employ", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cooler#7,548judged#7,573closes#7,541marble#7,580

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

canyon9 variantsnominee9 variantsstuffed9 variantssuperb9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list