hire

The word “hire” means to employ someone for pay, or to give someone a job.

“Hire” is pronounced HEYE-uh (/haɪɹ/ in IPA).

Here is “hire” used in a sentence: “The startup hired three new engineers this month.”

The opposite of “hire” — its antonyms — is fire.

Depending on how it is used, “hire” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “hire” comes from Old English. From Old English hȳr, meaning wages or payment for a service, going back to a Proto-Germanic root for "payment.".

“Hire” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Hire” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to employ someone for pay, or to give someone a job.

They are opposites in employment. To hire someone is to take them on and give them a paid job; to fire someone is to dismiss them and end their employment. A manager who hires builds the team, while firing removes a worker, usually for poor performance or redundancy.

When talking about people, hire means to employ someone for pay. In British English, hire can also mean paying to use equipment or a vehicle for a short time, much like rent. Rent, though, is more often used for property such as a house or flat over a longer period.

To hire someone is to give them a job in exchange for wages or a salary. It covers the whole act of choosing a candidate, agreeing terms, and bringing them onto the payroll. Employers hire staff to fill roles, whether permanent, temporary, full-time, or part-time.