Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

employee

/ˌɛm.plɔɪˈiː/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.50 in modern English

Syllables: em-ploy-ee
IPA: /ˌɛm.plɔɪˈiː/

15

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person who provides labor to a company or another person.

Example Sentences

"One way to encourage your employees to work harder is by giving them incentives."
"No one, however, would have anything to do with him, as Mr. Keeson's orders in those respects were very strict ; he had often threatened any one of his employés with instant dismissal if he found him in company with one of these touts."
"The concepts of emotional intelligence (EI), self-worth, authenticity and employee meditation rooms might conjure up thoughts of new age healing centers. […] Now, Nielsen is sending all hotel employees through EI training to help them become more open and confident, understand their own limitations and fears, and to boost their self-worth and comfort in dealing with other people."

Etymology

From employ + -ee. First attested in the early 19th century, possibly modeled after French employé.

Origin

Source language: French
First known use: First attested in the early 19th century

Word Breakdown

Root: employé
Suffix: employ

Inflected Forms

employees (plural) employe (alternative, dated) employé (alternative, dated)

Derived Forms

antiemployee coemployee employeeless nonemployee proemployee unemployee

Phrases

business-to-employee employee benefit employee handbook ghost employee self-employee W-2 employee

Frequently Paired Words

employ employé employée employer employment payroll taxes work

Synonyms

member of staff associate

Rhymes With

the be he we me she see three free -free big three de

Questions

How do you pronounce employee?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌɛm.plɔɪˈiː/.
What does employee mean?: A person who provides labor to a company or another person.
Where does employee come from?: It is traced to French. First known use: First attested in the early 19th century.

How to pronounce employee

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