hired hand

American  

noun

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

2. an employee.

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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.

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Etymology

Origin of hired hand

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20

Example Sentences

There was one time, however, when Mr. Watts famously chafed at being treated like a hired hand rather than an equal member of the group.

From New York Times • Aug. 24, 2021

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

A gloomy farmer forbids a hired hand, or anyone else, to go near a red house in the woods.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2019

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 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