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
  • If a foreign state treated these law enforcement operations as armed conflict, the private sector employees running them would not be combatants under international law and would not have POW or other protections.
    — Jill Goldenziel, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Fuller is nearly six months into the new position, created as Texas faces growing scrutiny over how school districts handle allegations involving teachers, coaches, and other school employees.
    — Amelia Mugavero, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of employee
Noun
  • But that constant movement is also making Ebola harder to contain, complicating efforts to find infected people and trace those who may have been exposed, said Mari Ndika, an Ebola response worker involved in disease monitoring.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Entry-level workers feel more pressure The effects appear to be more pronounced for those looking to start their careers.
    — Jenny Lee, CNBC, 19 Aug. 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 20 Aug. 2026.

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