hired hand

American  

noun

1. a hired laborer, especially on a farm or ranch; farm hand or ranch hand.

2. an employee.

---

hired hand Idioms  

1. Also,. A person engaged to assist with farm or domestic chores, as in We need extra hired hands during the harvest, or She was looking for a hired girl to do the laundry. This use of hired dates from the 1200s and referred to someone employed for wages as opposed to a slave or serf. The use of girl now may be offensive.

---

Etymology

Origin of hired hand

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20

Example Sentences

“You have to be a hired hand to do those things,” Tarantino says.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2022

Ravenholt grew up speaking Danish and worked as a hired hand on neighboring farms while the family lived in rentals until they could afford another property.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 16, 2020

He began his career as a hired hand, providing cartoons and illustrations for magazines, ads, and other people’s books.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 5, 2019

But Jones remains a hired hand - much the same as Ronnie Wood was when he officially joined the band in 1976, as a replacement for guitarist Mick Taylor.

From BBC • Nov. 29, 2016

But the Shibayamas were owners of a respectable house, and it seemed to them that Fujiko, the daughter in question, could do better than to marry a hired hand in America.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

Related Words

• casual laborer
• day laborer
• farmhand
• hand
• help
• hired help