hire

[ hahyuhr ]

verb (used with object)

, hired, hir·ing.

1. to engage the services of (someone) for wages or other payment:

   The company hired three new engineers in the last quarter.

   Synonyms: employ

2. to engage the temporary use of at a set price; rent:

   We hired a limousine to get us to the wedding in style.

   Synonyms: lease

noun

1. the act of hiring.
2. the state or condition of being hired.
3. the price or compensation paid or contracted to be paid for the temporary use of something or for personal services or labor; pay:

   The laborer is worthy of his hire.

   Synonyms: remuneration, salary, wages, stipend, rental

4. Informal. a person hired or to be hired:

   Most of our new hires are college-educated.

adjective

1. British. available for hire; rental:

   a hire car.

verb phrase

1. to offer or exchange one's services for payment:

   He hired himself out as a handyman.

2. to obtain employment; take a job:

   They hired on as wranglers with the rodeo.

hire

/ ˈhaɪə /

verb

1. to acquire the temporary use of (a thing) or the services of (a person) in exchange for payment
2. to employ (a person) for wages
3. often foll by out to provide (something) or the services of (oneself or others) for an agreed payment, usually for an agreed period
4. trfoll byout to pay independent contractors for (work to be done)

noun

1. 1. the act of hiring or the state of being hired
   2. ( as modifier )

      a hire car

2. 1. the price paid or payable for a person's services or the temporary use of something
   2. ( as modifier )

      the hire charge

3. for hire or on hire
   available for service or temporary use in exchange for payment

Derived Forms

• ˈhirable, adjective
• ˈhirer, noun

Other Words From

• hir·ee [hahy, uh, r-, ee], noun
• hir·er noun
• out·hire verb (used with object) outhired outhiring
• pre·hir·ing adjective
• re·hire verb rehired rehiring noun
• un·hired adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hire¹

First recorded before 1000; (verb) Middle English hiren, Old English hȳrian (cognate with Dutch huren, Low German hüren, Old Frisian hēra ); (noun) Middle English; Old English hȳr; cognate with Dutch huur, Low German hüre (whence Dutch hyre, Swedish hyra, German Heuer ), Frisian hēre

Word History and Origins

Origin of hire¹

Old English hӯrian; related to Old Frisian hēra to lease, Middle Dutch hūren

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. for hire, available for use or service in exchange for payment. Also on hire.

Synonym Study

Hire, charter, rent refer to paying money for the use of something. Hire is a general word, most commonly applied to paying money for labor or services, but is also used in reference to paying for the temporary use of automobiles (usually with a chauffeur), halls, etc.; in New England, it is used in speaking of borrowing money on which interest is to be paid (to distinguish from borrowing from a friend, who would not accept any interest): to hire a gardener, a delivery truck, a hall for a convention. Charter formerly meant to pay for the use of a vessel, but is now applied with increasing frequency to leasing any conveyance for the use of a group: to charter a boat, a bus, a plane. Rent is used in the latter sense, also, but is usually applied to paying a set sum once or at regular intervals for the use of a dwelling, room, personal effects, an automobile (which one drives oneself ), etc.: to rent a business building.

Example Sentences

Weston, a former British Gas executive, was hired in January this year to try and turn around the fortunes of a company drowning in debts of £18bn.

From BBC

They were among the most loyal of the loyal and there was never any doubt that Trump would hire many of them in a second term.

From Salon

The couple also hired several pet communicators, or animal psychics, who claim they can telepathically connect with a pet and help owners understand them.

From Los Angeles Times

We were just doing what we were hired to do: Tell stories not about ice skates or about baseball bats but about human beings.”

From Los Angeles Times

Some companies are hiring lawyers to audit the legal status of employees or to prepare staff for unannounced visits by immigration officials, The Financial Times reports.

From New York Times

Related Words

• appoint
• bring in
• draft
• employ
• engage
• enlist
• lease
• obtain
• pick
• promise
• rent
• retain
• select