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hireling

noun

ˈhī(-ə)r-liŋ How to pronounce hireling (audio)
Definition of hirelingnext
as in employee
one who works for another for wages or a salary demanded to speak to the store's owner and not one of his hirelings

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 hireling To pretend otherwise in the year 2024 is all-but to out oneself as a hireling. — Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 12 Feb. 2024 Neither should some assistant DA hireling be allowed to forgo appropriate punishment under state law. — Star Tribune, 8 Dec. 2020 Not since Carson Palmer has one of Mike Brown’s hirelings had the emperor in such a headlock. — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 2 Jan. 2018 No refuge could save the hireling and slave from the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave. — Solomon Jones, Philly.com, 18 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hireling
  1. employee
  2. worker
Noun
  • The company will monitor employee health, safety, and environmental indicators and proactively submit the results to regulators.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Every employee here, from the bartenders to the spa attendants, always seems to be just one step ahead of you.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of employee
Noun
  • About 50,000 doses are intended for front-line and health workers, while 20,000 doses will be used in a clinical trial to study whether the vaccine protects against Bundibugyo virus.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Many became lifelong friends, and role models for me as husbands, fathers, workers and community servants.
    — Tom Strong, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of worker

Browse Nearby Words

hired guns
hireling
hirelings
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Cite this Entry

“Hireling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hireling. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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