hire

hireverb

American /ˈhaɪ.ɚ/ British /ˈhaɪ.ə/ Hire sounds like higher.
third-person singular hires past tense hired past participle hired present participle hiring
  1. employgive someone a job and pay them to work for you

    transitive [T] verb + object [V + obj] verb + object + to-infinitive [V + obj + to-inf] verb + object + as + noun or adjective [V + obj + as]

    Collocations

    verb + noun hire staff, hire workers, hire a lawyer, hire a builder
    phrase be hired as something

    Synonyms employ

    Antonyms fire; dismiss

  2. pay to usepay money to use something, such as a car or a room, for a short time

    transitive [T] verb + object [V + obj] British

    Collocations

    verb + noun hire a car, hire a boat, hire a room, hire a bike

    Synonyms rent

Word family

  • hire

Usage

In British English you hire a car, a boat, or a room for a short time and rent a house or apartment for a longer time. American English usually uses rent for all of these, and hire mainly for giving someone a job.

See also rent

For translators

Meaning across languages "hire" has two uses: giving someone a job, and (mainly in British English) paying to use a thing for a short time. Many languages use different verbs for these.
Pronunciation trap "hire": in American English it often sounds like two syllables, HY-er, the same as higher.