hire (hīr)

v., hired, hir·ing, hires.

v.tr.

1. 1. To engage the services of (a person) for a fee; employ: hired a new clerk.
   2. To engage the temporary use of for a fee; rent: hire a car for the day.
2. To grant the services of or the temporary use of for a fee: hired himself out as a cook; hired out the cottage for the summer.

v.intr.
To obtain work: She hired on as a deck hand. He hired out as a photographer.

n.

1. 1. The act of hiring.
   2. The condition or fact of being hired.
2. 1. Payment for services; wages.
   2. Payment for the use of something.
3. Informal. One who is hired: two new hires in the sales department.

[Middle English hiren, from Old English hȳrian.]

hirable hir'a·ble or hire'a·ble adj.
hirer hir'er n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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