Main Entry:

²hire

Function:

verb

Inflected Form(s):

hired; hir·ing

Date:

before 12th century

transitive verb1 a: to engage the personal services of for a set sum <hire a crew> b: to engage the temporary use of for a fixed sum <hire a hall>2: to grant the personal services of or temporary use of for a fixed sum <hire themselves out>3: to get done for pay <hire the mowing done>intransitive verb: to take employment <hire out as a guide during the tourist season>

— hir·er noun

synonyms hire, let, lease, rent, charter 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>. 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>. 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>. charter applies to the hiring or letting of a vehicle usually for exclusive use <charter a bus to go to the game>.