hire 1 of 2

verb

Definition of hirenext
1
as in to rent
to take or get the temporary use of (something) for a set sum the Youngs hired a limousine for their daughter's wedding

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in to employ
to provide with a paying job the farm hires teenagers to pick blueberries in the summer

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

hire

2 of 2

noun

ˈhī(-ə)r How to pronounce hire (audio)
1
as in employ
the state of being provided with a paying job he spent most of his career in the hire of high-paying defense contractors

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in salary
the money paid regularly to a person for labor or services used to mow lawns for hire

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word hire different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of hire are charter, lease, let, and rent. While all these words mean "to engage or grant for use at a price," hire and let, strictly speaking, are complementary terms, hire implying the act of engaging or taking for use and let the granting of use.

we hired a car for the summer
decided to let the cottage to a young couple

In what contexts can charter take the place of hire?

The synonyms charter and hire are sometimes interchangeable, but charter applies to the hiring or letting of a vehicle usually for exclusive use.

charter a bus to go to the game

When can lease be used instead of hire?

The words lease and hire can be used in similar contexts, but lease strictly implies a letting under the terms of a contract but is often applied to hiring on a lease.

the diplomat leased an apartment for a year

When is it sensible to use rent instead of hire?

Although the words rent and hire have much in common, rent stresses the payment of money for the full use of property and may imply either hiring or letting.

instead of buying a house, they decided to rent
will not rent to families with children

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hire
Verb
Yang’s family has created a GoFundMe to raise money to hire a lawyer to help reunite her with her kids in the US. —Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 25 July 2025 The complaints about contractors hired to do work around people’s homes are legion. —Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 25 July 2025
Noun
Microsoft’s new hires are joining the software company’s AI group led by Suleyman, who reports to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. —Jordan Novet, CNBC, 22 July 2025 At the time, the campaign was trying to downplay its association with Project 2025, a comprehensive policy initiative that aimed to expand executive power and had amassed a list of thousands of potential hires in service of that goal. —Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 21 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for hire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hire
  1. rent
  2. employ
  3. employment
  4. salary
  5. recruit
  6. wage
  7. pay
  8. payment
Verb
  • Owners rent their villas in weekly blocks, with rates ranging from $393 per night (Great House Villas) to $7,663 per night for stand-alone villas.
    — Paula Conway, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
  • But if a real estate investment isn’t in the cards at the moment, settle for the next best thing by renting one of the many villas currently listed on Airbnb.
    — Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 14 July 2025
Definition of rent
Verb
  • She had been employed at a Belleville assisted living facility.
    — Amanda Castro Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 July 2025
  • The outlets reported that Robinson was employed as a security guard.
    — Michael Nied, People.com, 15 July 2025
Definition of employ
Noun
  • The impact on employment could likely be the opposite of what tariff proponents said would happen.
    — Erik Sherman, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
  • Some were touted by members of Trump’s administration before their government employment.
    — Savannah Kuchar, USA Today, 22 July 2025
Definition of employment
Noun
  • Across the board, these nations are balancing economic needs with domestic labour concerns by linking work visas to salary levels, labour shortages, and long-term integration strategies.
    — Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes.com, 26 July 2025
  • Nearly two-thirds, or 62%, of people with salaries over $300,000 a year struggle with credit card debt, a new survey from BHG Financial found.
    — Charlotte Morabito, CNBC, 26 July 2025
Definition of salary
Verb
  • Travers impresses New signing Mark Travers has been recruited with a simple brief: to compete with long-term No 1 Pickford.
    — Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 21 July 2025
  • The Amateur Athletic Union, or AAU for short, originally aimed to help youth in getting recruited to colleges or receiving scholarships.
    — Sami Khan, Mercury News, 20 July 2025
Definition of recruit
Noun
  • Over 90% of the department's budget makes up personnel costs, including wages, benefits and pension contributions.
    — Lillian Metzmeier, The Courier-Journal, 22 July 2025
  • And Beijing is now concerned that price wars don't just hurt companies and suppliers but also wages, tax revenues and the entire economy.
    — Elaine Yu, CNBC, 21 July 2025
Definition of wage
Verb
  • Florida’s Board of Medicine fined Romeu $10,000; ordered him to pay $6,722 in case costs; take two continuing medical education classes; and do 50 hours of community medical service.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 20 July 2025
  • But the borrower must still pay the mortgage every month.
    — ProPublica, ProPublica, 20 July 2025
Definition of pay
Noun
  • Their goal was to handle all of shopping—from research to payment.
    — Lutz Finger, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
  • But there is a drastic difference in the dollar amount of payments beneficiaries may receive depending on their start date.
    — Lorie Konish, CNBC, 24 July 2025
Definition of payment

Browse Nearby Words

hipsters
hire
hired
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hire. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on hire

Nglish: Translation of hire for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Our Best Historical Slang Terms

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Better Ways to Say 'This Sucks'

8 Words with Fascinating Histories
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Our Best Historical Slang Terms

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All