2
general::
verb pay sb to work ADV. directly, indirectly By 1960 the arms industry in America directly employed 3.5 million people. PREP. in A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture. PHRASES be fully employed 10% of 10?15-year-old girls were fully employed as late as 1911. | be gainfully employed Those not gainfully employed are dependent on their savings. | be permanently/temporarily employed, be regularly/irregularly employed use ADV. commonly, extensively, frequently, often, widely The safety net is an image commonly employed in everyday life. | generally, usually | actively, deliberately teaching that actively employs computers in innovative and fruitful ways | successfully, usefully VERB + EMPLOY can/could The army has far more junior officers than it can usefully employ. be employed: be busy doing sth ADV. better You'd be far better employed taking care of your own affairs. | busily, usefully PREP. in Will and Joe were busily employed in clearing out all the furniture.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary