Meaning & use
public employee
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
a person who works for a government department or agency, paid from public funds
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a public employee' or 'public employees'. It is a compound noun.
Patterns
- a public employee
- public employees
- public employee benefits
As a public employee, she receives a government pension.
The new policy affects all public employees in the state.
Public employees are often required to disclose their financial interests.
nouncountable
a worker in the public sector, as opposed to the private sector
Grammar: Often used in contrast with 'private-sector employee'.
Patterns
- public-sector employee
- public employee union
- public employee salary
The report compares the wages of public employees with those in the private sector.
The union represents thousands of public employees across the country.
Public employee salaries are set by the government.
Word forms
| plural | public employees |
|---|
Common combinations
- public employee union
- The public employee union is negotiating for higher wages.
- public employee benefits
- Public employee benefits include health insurance and a pension.
- public employee salary
- The average public employee salary is lower than in the private sector.
- federal public employee
- He is a federal public employee working in Washington.
Synonyms and how they differ
- civil servant
- A more specific term for someone who works in the civil service, often in a government department; 'public employee' is broader and includes teachers, police, etc.
- public servant
- Similar in meaning but often carries a sense of serving the public; it can include elected officials, while 'public employee' usually means a paid worker.
- government worker
- An informal term with the same meaning, used in everyday speech.
Opposites
Word family
- employ verb
- To give someone a job.
- employee noun
- A person who works for an employer.
- employer noun
- A person or organization that pays people to work.
- employment noun
- The state of having paid work.
Commonly confused: public employee or public official?
public employee vs public official
A public official is someone who holds a position of authority in government, often elected or appointed, while a public employee is any paid worker for the government.
Practice
The new law will affect the pensions of all ______ in the country.
Choose one answer.
After 'all' we need a plural noun: 'public employees'. 'Public employee' is singular and would not agree with 'all'. 'Publicly employed' is an adjective phrase and 'public employing' is not a standard noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “public employee”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.