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Synonyms

rehire

American  
[ree-hahyuhr] / ˌriˈhaɪər /

verb (used with object)

  1. to engage the services of (someone) for wages or other payment a second or subsequent time (often used in the passive).

    More than half of the dismissed teachers were rehired the following year.

    Officials have said they hope to rehire many of the 900 employees who were laid off when the hospital closed.


noun

  1. an act or instance of engaging someone’s services for payment a second or subsequent time.

    A transfer within the group of related companies is considered continuous employment, not a termination and a rehire.

  2. a person whose services have been engaged for payment a second or subsequent time.

    Rehires are eligible to have their retirement benefits reinstated after a 30-day waiting period.

Etymology

Origin of rehire

First recorded in 1760–70; re- ( def. ) + hire ( def. )

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:

Some that pared their human workforces in favor of AI bots have had to rehire fired workers, according to Forrester Research.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 23, 2026

Brewdog has been criticised for asking staff to reapply for their jobs, in what a union has described as a "fire and rehire" scheme.

From BBC Mar. 21, 2026

It cannot instantly rehire workers who found other jobs.

From MarketWatch Feb. 19, 2026

Keep older adults who already have these skills working, rehire those we’re letting go and build a bridge at work between skilled, older adults and younger cohorts who could learn from them on the job.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 28, 2025

They were supposed to rehire all the teachers for the upcoming year.

From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine

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