employment
/ɪmˈplɔɪmənt/noun
employment is spelled E-M-P-L-O-Y-M-E-N-T: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 36 times per million words in written English, the 2,669th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, employment means “The occupation or work for which one is used, and often paid” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of employment is employments.
How many letters and syllables are in employment?
| Letters | 10: E-M-P-L-O-Y-M-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 36 times per million words; the 2,669th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is employment?
Employment appears 36 times per million words in written English, the 2,669th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce employment?
- /ɪmˈplɔɪmənt/
- /ɛmˈplɔɪmənt/
Employment has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-employment.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of employment
- employments plural
- imployment
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does employment mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The occupation or work for which one is used, and often paid.
- 2
The act of employing.
The personnel director handled the whole employment procedure
- 3
The state of being employed.
The percentage of a country's population in employment used to be called "participation rate".
- 4
A purpose, a use.
- 5
An activity to which one devotes time.
- 6
The number or percentage of people at work.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate employment?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of employment: Emp't.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Employment in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | travail, emploi , taux d'emploi |
| German | Arbeit , Anstellung , Beschäftigung, Erwerbstätigkeit |
| Portuguese | emprego, trabalho, serviço |
| Spanish | empleo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does employment come from?
From employ (itself from Middle French employer, from Middle French empleier, from Latin implicō (“enfold, involve, be connected with”), itself from in- + plicō (“fold”)) + -ment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).