employed

employed — 動詞

1. to give someone a paid job, usually for an organization or company that pays the

1.動詞及物B1
釋義

僱用

付薪僱人工作

to give someone a paid job, usually for an organization or company that pays them regularly for their work.

例句

Over two hundred engineers were employed by the software firm at its new research centre.

那家軟體公司在新的研發中心僱用了兩百多名工程師。

passive: be employed by [company]

The city council employed a team of gardeners to look after all the public parks.

市議會僱用了一組園丁來維護所有的公園。

employ someone to do something

同義詞
  • hire

    more common in everyday situations, especially for short-term or casual work

  • appoint

    formal; used when someone is given an official position or role

  • recruit

    focuses on the process of actively finding and selecting new workers

反義詞
  • fire

    to end someone's employment, usually for poor performance or misconduct

  • dismiss

    more formal than 'fire', often used in official contexts

文法句型

be employed by [company]

employ someone as [position]

employ someone to do something

用法筆記

Frequently used in the passive: 'was employed by [company]'. Subject is typically an organization or institution, not a single person acting informally.

常見錯誤

❌I employed my neighbour to water the plants while I was away.
✅I hired my neighbour to water the plants while I was away.
💡For casual, short-term arrangements between individuals, 'hire' sounds more natural than 'employ'.

2. to use a particular tool, method, technique, or skill in order to achieve a resu

2.動詞及物B2
釋義

使用

運用方法工具

to use a particular tool, method, technique, or skill in order to achieve a result.

例句

A clever questioning technique was employed by the journalist to get the politician to speak openly.

那位記者運用巧妙的提問技巧，讓政治人物願意公開談話。

passive: [technique] was employed to [purpose]

The police detective employed a clever set of questions to get the suspect to reveal where the stolen money was hidden.

刑警運用了一套巧妙的提問技巧，讓嫌疑犯說出贓款藏在哪裡。

employ + noun (method/technique) to do something

同義詞
  • use

    neutral and far more common; works in almost any context

  • utilize

    more technical or formal; common in academic and business writing

  • apply

    suggests putting a skill or rule into practical use

反義詞
  • neglect

    to fail to use something that is available

  • abandon

    to stop using a method or approach entirely

文法句型

employ + noun (method/technique/tool)

employ something to do something

用法筆記

Object is usually an abstract thing — a method, strategy, skill, or technique. Using 'employ' for a simple physical tool (e.g. 'employ a spoon') sounds overly formal; 'use' is preferred in everyday English.

常見錯誤

❌He employed a knife to slice the bread.
✅He used a knife to slice the bread.
💡'Employ' for everyday physical objects sounds unnatural and too formal.

3. to spend a period of time doing something, especially in a useful or purposeful

3.動詞及物C1
釋義

花費

花時間做某事

to spend a period of time doing something, especially in a useful or purposeful way.

例句

The teenager employed his summer break learning to code and build simple websites.

那位青少年利用暑假時間學習寫程式和架設簡單的網站。

employ + time period + doing something

The young couple employed every weekend renovating the old farmhouse they had bought.

那對年輕夫婦每個週末都花在翻修他們買下的老農舍上。

同義詞
  • spend

    the neutral, everyday word for using time

  • devote

    suggests giving time to something with dedication or commitment

  • occupy

    suggests filling time with activity, often to avoid boredom

文法句型

employ + time period + doing something

employ + time period + on something

employ + time period + in something

用法筆記

Quite formal — in everyday conversation, 'spend' is strongly preferred. Commonly followed by a time expression and a gerund ('employed the morning cleaning').

常見錯誤

❌She employed the afternoon watching TV.
✅She spent the afternoon watching TV.
💡Using 'employ' for casual or leisure activities sounds unnatural; 'spend' is the everyday choice.

employed — 名詞