hire
verb (used with object)
to engage the services of (someone) for wages or other payment.
had been hiring
-
past perfect progressiveof hire.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It said it will also not fill thousands more open jobs it had been hiring for.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
In a statement to Reuters this week, Hyundai said it had already stopped relying on at least one labor recruiting firm that had been hiring for SMART.
From Reuters ● Oct. 19, 2022
Another catastrophe is also increasing its sales: Companies that had been hiring Chinese factories to make their tools are shifting orders to Cube Precision to avoid the chaos of the coronavirus epidemic.
From New York Times ● Feb. 25, 2020
When Noelle inherits her mother’s house, she finds out that for the past few years her aging mother had been hiring professionals to decorate it for Christmas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2019
Demedyuk and others who spoke on the condition of anonymity believe eggPLC is a Moscow-based stock trader originally from St. Petersburg, who since at least 2008 had been hiring hackers to work for him.
From The Verge ● Aug. 22, 2018
