employ

/ɪmˈplɔɪ/
noun
  1. The state of being employed; employment (used in phrases like 'in someone's employ').
    • She entered the king's employ as a tutor.
    • He has been in the company's employ for ten years.
    • The workers are in the employ of a large corporation.
verb
  1. To give someone a job and pay them for their work.
    • The company employs over 500 people.
    • She was employed as a software engineer.
    • They employ many part-time workers during the holidays.
  2. To use something for a particular purpose.
    • The chef employed a new technique to make the sauce.
    • He employed a hammer to break the rock.
    • We need to employ better strategies to solve this problem.
Antonyms