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hire

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word hire different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of hire are charter, lease, let, and rent. While all these words 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

In what contexts can charter take the place of hire?

The synonyms charter and hire are sometimes interchangeable, but charter applies to the hiring or letting of a vehicle usually for exclusive use.

charter a bus to go to the game

When can lease be used instead of hire?

The words lease and hire can be used in similar contexts, but 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

When is it sensible to use rent instead of hire?

Although the words rent and hire have much in common, 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

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hire
Verb
The hunters are hired to kill them, but Richards has to survive to win the prize money to help his sick daughter. Clare Fisher, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025 The report cited internal documents showing Salesforce pitching itself as a tool to boost hiring for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which seeks to ramp up deportations across the country, and suggesting how AI could help evaluate tips and improve ICE investigations. Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
Jordan Alexander, The Onyx Agency’s first hire and now vice president, helped lay the foundation for everything that followed. Sara Smith, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025 That one-in-a-million hire signed the paperwork and is officially on board. Rebecca Knight, Harvard Business Review, 14 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hire
Verb
  • The ordinance incentivizes people to potentially rent out their homes during the World Cup through platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo without having to pay taxes associated with the use of commercial spaces.
    Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2025
  • After a brief stint renting a home in Orrington, Maine (more on that below), the Kings returned to Lovell in 1979.
    Katie Schultz, Architectural Digest, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • But American manufacturing looks very different from five decades ago, when millions of workers were employed to perform specific tasks along assembly lines.
    Joel Williams, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
  • Companies that employ geopolitical foresight will be better equipped to navigate disruption and unlock growth opportunities.
    Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • In other states, there would be no change to the program, and DACA recipients would still be granted employment authorization documents.
    Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Additionally, the school did not give Lea 180 days notice of her firing, as outlined in her employment agreement, according to the lawsuit.
    Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The district also seeks a maintenance and operations budget override of 15% for class sizes, alternative education programs, electives, teacher salaries, specialty schools, safety and support services and athletic programs.
    Erick Trevino, AZCentral.com, 17 Oct. 2025
  • The terms of Mike Hill’s contract will be honored, including a financial payout of his $420,000 base salary through June 30, 2030.
    Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Revolutionary groups, often recruited from universities and the intelligentsia, were soon carrying out terrorist attacks in the cities.
    Karl Ove Knausgaard, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Ring of Fire Skull recruited Dusty Summers from a club in Las Vegas.
    Keith Sharon, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Many immigrants without legal status were earning wages that put them below the federal government’s poverty line, MPI found, although around 31 percent reported being able to own a home.
    Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
  • This project will create those 225 positions through 2030, with a minimum average wage of $108,400.
    Brian Gordon, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Lowdown is paying tribute to its late star, Graham Greene.
    Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Their separation came five years after the couple were entangled in the Operation Varsity Blues scandal, pleading guilty to wire and mail fraud related to paying hundreds of thousands in bribes to get their daughters into the University of Southern California.
    Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • In 2022, Bureau of Land Management officials updated a program to incentivize adoptions of wild horses and burros by offering a $1,000 payment for the adoption of an animal removed from federal public lands.
    John Leos, AZCentral.com, 23 Oct. 2025
  • City residents who apply for flood assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency may be eligible for a one-time $300 Clean and Sanitize Assistance payment, which helps with mold cleanup and addressing potential health concerns related to mold.
    Francesca Pica, jsonline.com, 23 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hire. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.

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