Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

employment

/ɪmˈplɔɪmənt/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.56 in modern English

Syllables: em-ploy-ment
IPA: /ɪmˈplɔɪmənt/

19

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The occupation or work for which one is used, and often paid.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The act of employing.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The state of being employed.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A purpose, a use.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

An activity to which one devotes time.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The number or percentage of people at work.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"[I]t is certaine no man sees more of the Navye's Transactions than himselfe [the Clerk of the Acts], and possibly may speak as much to the project if required, or else he is a blockhead, and not fitt for that imployment."
"The personnel director handled the whole employment procedure"
"The percentage of a country's population in employment used to be called "participation rate"."
"[…] King Henry [VIII] full fraught all thoſe vvith vvealth and revvards, vvhom he retained in his imployment."
"At the period just preceding the advent of Bartleby, I had two persons as copyists in my employment, and a promising lad as an office-boy."
"This new employment of his time caused no relaxation in his attention to my education."

Etymology

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.

Origin

Source language: Middle French

Word Breakdown

Root: employer, empleier, implicō
Suffix: ment

Usage

Inflected Forms

employments (plural) imployment (alternative)

Derived Forms

antiemployment malemployment misemployment nonemployment overemployment preemployment reemployment subemployment underemployment

Phrases

at-will employment at will employment co-employment employment agency employment at will employment-at-will employment contract employment exchange

Frequently Paired Words

employ employable employed employee employer

Synonyms

employ hire work use usage utilization utilisation exercise

Antonyms

disemployment unemployment

Rhymes With

unemployment deployment enjoyment redeployment underemployment reemployment

Questions

How do you pronounce employment?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɪmˈplɔɪmənt/.
What does employment mean?: The occupation or work for which one is used, and often paid.
Where does employment come from?: It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce employment

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “employment”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɪmˈplɔɪmənt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “employment”.
Repeat and practice — Say “employment” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.