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:
Given the property’s value and your mother’s age, hire an estate-planning attorney and CPA before transferring the property.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
This is not like suing somebody that’s judgment-proof or somebody can’t hire a good lawyer.
From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2026
When a South Carolina vocational center told Lynn Lee last month that they wanted to hire her, Lee could hardly believe it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
The government spent a further £11,800 on economy-class flights for several officials accompanying Swinney, as well as more than £10,000 on car hire for the first minister's visit.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
“Do we need to hire a tutor for you? Are you having a hard time focusing in class? What about your friends? Can you find a study buddy?”
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
Now he’s looking to double down with two key hires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
First-year coach Travon Patterson made one of the best hires for his offensive coordinator, former Cathedral and Warren coach Kevin Pearson.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
So, we created a character named Tommy Tomlin — another hairdresser and longtime friend of Mickey’s who Valerie hires to step in and take Mickey’s place and be the hairdresser on her new AI-written sitcom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Meanwhile, 60% of “head of AI” hires in 2025 were millennials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
A former enslaved man hires enslaved boys to work in his shop.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
In Nashville, Parton's singing caught the eye of country performer Porter Wagoner, who hired her to perform on his television programme.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
In Iowa, Letsch is sometimes able to negotiate directly with the third-party administrator hired to recover funds from an estate: Sumo Group, a subcontractor of Health Management Systems.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Over the past 13 years, United has hired seven different permanent managers, yet only one has been able to win at least 60% of his games.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
New controllers have been hired -- 92 in 2025 and 77 in 2026 -- but each newcomer must be trained for five years.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 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
If reached, that figure would be close to the 2024 record, which followed a hiring boom during the Covid pandemic.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Businesses have said employer national insurance and minimum wage hikes have made hiring more expensive, particularly for junior staff.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Instead of hiring an attorney to establish a revocable living trust or prepare a formal will, can I simply name different charitable organizations as beneficiaries on all of my financial accounts?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
AI models, some Chinese companies tapped American expertise by hiring Chinese nationals who had worked for U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
If one looks for the first signs of the downfall of the Roman Empire it will be found to have begun with the hiring of the Goths as mercenaries.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
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.
