hire

hire [hīr]

n.

[ME < OE hyr, wages, akin to Du huur, Ger heuer]

1. the amount paid to get the services of a person or the use of a thing

2. a hiring or being hired

3. Informal a person who is hired; employee

vt.

hired, hiring

1. to get the services of (a person) or the use of (a thing) in return for payment; employ or engage

2. to give the use of (a thing) or the services of (oneself or another) in return for payment: often with out

3. to pay for (work to be done)

——————

for hire

available for work or use in return for payment: also on hire

——————

☆ hire out

to work, esp. as a laborer, for payment

hirable

adj.

hireable

hirer

n.

SYN.- to HIRE, in strict usage, means to get, and LET¹ means to give, the use of something in return for payment, although HIRE, which is also applied to persons or their services, may be used in either sense [to hire a hall, a worker, etc., rooms to let]; LEASE implies the letting or, in loose usage, the hiring of property (usually real property) by written contract; RENT¹ implies payment of a specific amount, usually at fixed intervals, for hiring or letting a house, land, or other property; CHARTER implies the hiring or leasing of a ship, bus, etc.