[hire] n [ME, fr. OE hyr; akin to OS huria hire] (bef. 12c) 1 a: payment for the temporary use of something b: payment for labor or personal services: wages
2. a: the act or an instance of hiring b: the state of being hired: employment 3 Brit: rental--often used attributively
4: one who is hired "starting wage for the new ~s" -- for hire also on hire : available for use or service in return for payment
[2]hire vb hired ; hir.ing vt (bef. 12c) 1 a: to engage the personal services of for a set sum "~ a crew" b: to engage the temporary use of for a fixed sum "~ a hall"
2: to grant the personal services of or temporary use of for a fixed sum "~ themselves out"
3: to get done for pay "~ the mowing done" ~ vi: to take employment "~ out as a guide during the tourist season" -- hir.er n syn 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 usu. for exclusive use "charter a bus to go to the game".