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hire

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hire¹

  • /ˈhaɪ(.)ə/ UK
  • /ˈhaɪɹ/ US
  • /ˈhɑɪ.əɹ/ US

Sounds like higher (most accents)

Where it comes from

From Middle English hire, hyre, here, hure, from Old English hȳr (“employment for wages; pay for service; interest on money lent”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūʀiju (“payment”), from the verb *hūʀijan, from Proto-Germanic *hūzijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *kewHs- or *kweHs-. Compare Hittite 𒆪𒊭𒀭 (kuššan-, “fee, pay, wages, price”).

Cognate with West Frisian hier (“hire”), Dutch huur (“lease, rental”), German Low German Hüür (“lease, rental”).

noun hires

  1. countable A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort. We pair up each of our new hires with one of our original hires.
  2. uncountable The state of being hired, or having a job; employment. When my grandfather retired, he had over twenty mechanics in his hire.

    Similar: employ

  3. uncountable Payment for the temporary use of something. The sign offered pedalos on hire.
  4. obsolete, uncountable Reward. I vvill him reaue of armes, the victors hire, / And of that ſhield, more vvorthy of good knight; / For vvhy ſhould a dead dog be deckt in armour bright?

hire²

  • /ˈhaɪ(.)ə/ UK
  • /ˈhaɪɹ/ US
  • /ˈhɑɪ.əɹ/ US

Sounds like higher (most accents)

Where it comes from

From Middle English hiren, hyren, from Old English hȳrian (“to hire”), from the noun (see above). Compare West Frisian hiere (“to rent, lease”), Dutch huren (“to rent, lease”), Low German hüren (“to rent”), Danish hyre (“to hire”), Swedish hyra (“to hire”).

Eclipsed Middle English souden (“to hire, employ, enlist”), borrowed from Old French souder, soudre, souldre (“to take into employ, pay”); see obsolete English sold (“salary, military pay”).

verb hires · hiring · hired

  1. Australia, UK, transitive To obtain the services of in return for fixed payment. We hired a car for two weeks because ours had broken down.

    Similar: rent

  2. UK, transitive To occupy premises in exchange for rent. I do not mean to insist here on the disadvantage of hiring compared with owning, but it is evident that the savage owns his shelter because it costs so little, while the civilized man hires his commonly because he cannot afford to own it; nor can he, in the long run, any better afford to hire.

    Similar: rent

  3. transitive To employ; to obtain the services of (a person) in exchange for remuneration; to give someone a job. The company had problems when it tried to hire more skilled workers.
  4. transitive To exchange the services of for remuneration. They hired themselves out as day laborers.  They hired out their basement for Inauguration week.
  5. UK, transitive To accomplish by paying for services. After waiting two years for her husband to finish the tiling, she decided to hire it done.
  6. intransitive To accept employment. They hired out as day laborers.
  7. transitive (neologism) (in the Jobs-to-be-Done Theory) To buy something in order for it to perform a function, to do a job They hired a milkshake.

Opposite: fire

Hire³

Rhymes with -aɪə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

* As a Dutch and German surname, Americanized from Heier, Heyer.

* As an English surname, variant of Heare.

* As an Irish surname, variant of Hare.

proper noun Hires

  1. A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: employ, employment, charter, rent, lease, take, engagement, engage, staffing, recruiting, spend, recruitment, purchase, procurement, enlist, chartered

verb

Opposite: fire

Translations

Every language

noun a person who has been hired

Españolempleado
Portuguêscontratado
DeutschHilfsarbeiter, Saisonarbeiter

noun the state of being hired, or having a job; employment

Españolalquiler
हिन्दीनियुक्ति niyukti
Portuguêsemprego
Deutschunter Vertrag
Русскийнаём najóm, прока́т prokát

verb to obtain the services of in return for fixed payment

한국어고용하다 goyonghada
日本語借りる kariru
中文租借 zūjiè, 出租 chūzū
Kiswahili-ajiri
Portuguêscontratar, alugar
Françaislouer
Deutschmieten, heuern
Italianoassoldare, noleggiare
Ελληνικάνοικιάζω noikiázo
Русскийбрать напрока́т bratʹ naprokát, взять напрока́т vzjatʹ naprokát, нанима́ть nanimátʹ, наня́ть nanjátʹ
Tiếng Việtthuê, mướn
العربيةأَجَّرَ ʔajjara

verb to employ

Españolcontratar, emplear
한국어고용하다 goyonghada
日本語雇う yatou, 雇用する koyō suru
中文雇傭 gùyōng, 雇 gù
हिन्दीनियुक्त करना niyukt karnā
Kiswahili-ajiri
Portuguêscontratar, empregar
Françaisembaucher, employer, recruter, engager
Deutschanwerben, anstellen, einstellen, anheuern (naut.)
Italianoimpiegare, ingaggiare, assumere
Ελληνικάπροσλαμβάνω proslamváno
Românăangaja
Русскийнанима́ть nanimátʹ, наня́ть nanjátʹ, трудоустра́ивать trudoustráivatʹ, трудоустро́ить trudoustróitʹ
Tiếng Việttuyển
العربيةاِسْتَخْدَمَ istaḵdama, شَغَّلَ šaḡḡala, اِسْتَعْمَلَ istaʕmala, اِسْتَأْجَرَ istaʔjara

verb to exchange the services of for remuneration

Deutschvermieten, verdingen

verb to accomplish by paying for services

Deutschmachen lassen

verb to accept employment

Deutschanheuern (naut.), sich verdingen

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MLA

"hire." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hire. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

hire. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hire

Chicago

"hire." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hire.

BibTeX
@misc{hire_2026,
  title = {hire},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hire},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}