Added 9 October 2026
hire
/ˈhaɪ(.)ə/ noun
In Latin: conduco Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about hire at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort.
We pair up each of our new hires with one of our original hires.
-
The state of being hired, or having a job; employment.
When my grandfather retired, he had over twenty mechanics in his hire.
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Payment for the temporary use of something.
The sign offered pedalos on hire.
verb
-
To obtain the services of in return for fixed payment.
We hired a car for two weeks because ours had broken down.
- To occupy premises in exchange for rent.
-
To employ; to obtain the services of (a person) in exchange for remuneration; to give someone a job.
The company had problems when it tried to hire more skilled workers.
Origin
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”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)