hireling

American  

[hahyuhr-ling] / ˈhaɪər lɪŋ /

noun

1. a person who works only for pay, especially in a menial or boring job, with little or no concern for the value of the work.

   Synonyms:

   retainer, lackey, flunky, minion, menial

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adjective

1. serving for pay only.

2. venal; mercenary.

hireling British  

/ ˈhaɪəlɪŋ /

noun

1. derogatory a person who works only for money, esp one paid to do something unpleasant

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Etymology

Origin of hireling

First recorded before 1000; late Middle English hirlyng, Old English hȳrling; hire, -ling ¹

Explanation

A hireling is someone doing a job solely for the money. Hirelings have a bad rap because they don’t do anything out of the goodness of their hearts; they work only for cold hard cash. If you have been raised with the idea that there is dignity in hard work of any kind, it may be hard to understand the negative connotations associated with the word hireling. A hireling isn’t just someone who’s hired to flip burgers, a hireling is more like a mercenary, which is a soldier who fights for whoever’s paying. Hirelings often do jobs that are distasteful, ones that could involve lying, cheating, or worse.

Example Sentences

But after her hireling turned protege persuaded Deborah to revamp her act by making it more personal and intimate, the comedy veteran decided she needed to take her new show on the road.

From Washington Post • May 11, 2022

It pointed to the third verse of Francis Scott Key’s poem, which includes the line: “No refuge could save the hireling and slave from the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave.”

From Washington Times • Jun. 25, 2020

Indeed, the oft-overlooked third verse of Key’s original text proclaims, “No refuge could save the hireling & slave / From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave.”

From The New Yorker • Aug. 29, 2016

Dean notes that some Chinese couples see the procedure as strictly a business transaction, viewing the surrogate mother as a hireling.

From Chicago Tribune • Feb. 19, 2012

Besides, his tasks were those of a hireling; no matter how expertly he did them, he could not hope to progress to anything better, as even the most stupid apprentice did.

From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw