What does "hire" mean?
A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort.
Hire
/ˈhaɪ(.)ə/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort.
- Grammar: hire is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: admission, admission fee, aircraft charter, anchorage.
- Useful contrasts: buy, canning, cans.
- Usage evidence: If you are honest, I will hire you.
How to use "hire"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hire" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "hire" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "hire" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hire" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "hire" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "admission" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "hire", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort. countable
"We pair up each of our new hires with one of our original hires."
- 2 the act of hiring something or someone wordnet
- 3 The state of being hired, or having a job; employment. uncountable
"When my grandfather retired, he had over twenty mechanics in his hire."
- 4 a newly hired employee wordnet
- 5 Payment for the temporary use of something. uncountable
"The sign offered pedalos on hire."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Reward. obsolete, uncountable
"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?"
Verb
- 1 To obtain the services of in return for fixed payment. Australia, UK, transitive
"We hired a car for two weeks because ours had broken down."
- 2 engage for service under a term of contract wordnet
- 3 To occupy premises in exchange for rent. UK, transitive
"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."
- 4 engage or hire for work wordnet
- 5 To employ; to obtain the services of (a person) in exchange for remuneration; to give someone a job. transitive
"The company had problems when it tried to hire more skilled workers."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 hold under a lease or rental agreement; of goods and services wordnet
- 7 To exchange the services of for remuneration. transitive
"They hired themselves out as day laborers. They hired out their basement for Inauguration week."
- 8 To accomplish by paying for services. UK, transitive
"After waiting two years for her husband to finish the tiling, she decided to hire it done."
- 9 To accept employment. intransitive
"They hired out as day laborers."
- 10 (neologism) (in the Jobs-to-be-Done Theory) To buy something in order for it to perform a function, to do a job transitive
"They hired a milkshake."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"If you are honest, I will hire you."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hire"?
Common synonyms include: admission, admission fee, aircraft charter, anchorage, appoint, bareboat charter.
How do you use "hire" in a sentence?
If you are honest, I will hire you.
How do you pronounce "hire"?
Pronounced /ˈhaɪ(.)ə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”).
Etymology 2
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 English sold (“salary, military pay”).
Etymology 3
* As a Dutch and German surname, Americanized from Heier, Heyer. * As an English surname, variant of Heare. * As an Irish surname, variant of Hare.