hire
Americanverb (used with object)
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hires,
present (3rd person singular)
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hired,
past participle, past
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hiring
present participle
noun
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hires
plural
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the act of hiring.
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the state or condition of being hired.
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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
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Informal. a person hired or to be hired.
Most of our new hires are college-educated.
adjective
verb phrase
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hire out to offer or exchange one's services for payment.
He hired himself out as a handyman.
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hire on to obtain employment; take a job.
They hired on as wranglers with the rodeo.
idioms
verb
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to acquire the temporary use of (a thing) or the services of (a person) in exchange for payment
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to employ (a person) for wages
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(often foll by out) to provide (something) or the services of (oneself or others) for an agreed payment, usually for an agreed period
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to pay independent contractors for (work to be done)
noun
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the act of hiring or the state of being hired
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( as modifier )
a hire car
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the price paid or payable for a person's services or the temporary use of something
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( as modifier )
the hire charge
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available for service or temporary use in exchange for payment
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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hireenoun
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hirernoun
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rehireverb
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outhireverb (used with object)
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hirableadjective
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prehiringadjective
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unhiredadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hiresimple
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hiressimple
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have hiredperfect
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has hiredperfect
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am hiringprogressive
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are hiringprogressive
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is hiringprogressive
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have been hiringperfect progressive
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has been hiringperfect progressive
Past
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hiredsimple
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had hiredperfect
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was hiringprogressive
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were hiringprogressive
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had been hiringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hire
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
Explanation
When you hire someone, you invite them to work for you or the company you represent. If you manage your local ice cream shop, it might be part of your job to hire extra ice cream scoopers for the busy summer season. Your boss at the animal shelter might hire you immediately if she's desperate for help — or if you impress her as a true animal lover. Once she does, she can call you "a new hire," or a recently hired employee. It's less common in the U.S. than in Britain, but you can also say you hire a car when you rent or lease one. Hire comes from the Old English hyr, which means both "wages" and "interest."
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.
See Examples For:
One firm he urged Tolland to hire, Construction Advocacy Professionals, received more than $500,000 in Birch Grove contracts soon after hiring Diamantis’s daughter, and its work was “entirely superfluous,” prosecutors said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
She added that the international workers that Microsoft does hire through the H1b visa program are paid the same level of compensation that a worker from the US would receive.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
And while serving in government, Noem adviser Corey Lewandowski reportedly tried to persuade Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to hire him on the side.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
The rate at which companies hire, for instance, tumbled to a 16-year low earlier this year and has hardly improved, BLS data showed.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Another boat owner arrived in a canoe, with tools our master needed to hire.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
The 1975 film “Jaws,” in which a local government hires a shark hunter to protect the town’s tourism industry, delighted me as a 10-year-old.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
Tired of constantly being mocked for being single, she hires a basketmaker to mould her a new partner made entirely out of wicker.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Every major tech firm in the US hires international workers through the H1b visa program, and has done so for many years, including Amazon, Google, Meta, Apple, Nvidia, and more.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Verity can’t finish her book series for mysterious reasons, so Jeremy hires Lowen to do so for her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Connelly was one of Old Randall’s first hires.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
He was later hired by UAE-based Flydubai after undergoing standard security checks that did not examine his background for potential signs of radicalisation, according to the officials.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
In comments to the New York Times, Ballard denied personally using AI but said that an acquaintance she hired to edit the book, which was originally self-published, had used AI.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
During the Van Meters’ downsizing, junk haulers they hired took away Peter’s big pile.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
He also hired Ross Porter, a Dodgers broadcaster from 1977 to 2004.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
“Once upon a time there was a couple with many cattle, but only one son. Their neighbors became jealous, so they hired a witch to put a curse on them.”
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
According to Ellis, a company which aids many tech companies with the process of hiring skilled workers from abroad, the median salary, external for an H1b worker at Microsoft is $155,000.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
One firm he urged Tolland to hire, Construction Advocacy Professionals, received more than $500,000 in Birch Grove contracts soon after hiring Diamantis’s daughter, and its work was “entirely superfluous,” prosecutors said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
City officials say they’ve already instituted hiring freezes, cut overtime spending and deferred capital projects, among other steps, to try to pre-emptively control costs.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
“We’re 100% for hiring firefighters and prioritizing public safety. This is not shot at the firefighters. It’s an affordability issue. No one likes the permanence of a tax with no end in sight.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
“You’re putting me in charge of hiring a deejay?” he asked breathlessly.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
