hire
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To pay someone to work for you or use their services
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hyerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhaɪɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To employ; to obtain the services of (a person) in exchange for remuneration; to give someone a job.
transitivechiefly uk and australia
To obtain the services of in return for fixed payment.
transitivechiefly uk
To occupy premises in exchange for rent.
intransitive
To accept employment.
transitivechiefly uk
To accomplish by paying for services.
noun
uncountable
The state of being hired, or having a job; employment.
countable
A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort.
uncountable
Payment for the temporary use of something.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The state of being hired, or having a job; employment.
Used this way, hire is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in business or professional contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Business/professional
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use hire
- “They hired two new secretaries in the department.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Hired for the exclusive temporary use of a group of travelers.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Grant the services of or the temporary use of, for a fee.
A professional killer who uses a gun.
A hired laborer on a farm or ranch.
Employee hired for domestic or farm work (often used in the singular to refer to several employees collectively).
A hired laborer on a farm or ranch.
Installment plan.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- payverb
- consultantnoun
- employeenoun
- taxinoun
- purchaseverb
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.