hire

v.

1. To employ

   engage, sign up, draft, obtain, secure, take into one's employ, enlist, give a job to, take on, give work to, give employment to, put to work, set to work, bring in, occupy, use, fill a position, appoint, delegate, authorize, retain, commission, promise, empower, book, utilize, select, pick, pledge, bespeak, contract, procure, fill an opening, find help, find a place for, exploit, make use of, use another's services, add to the payroll, carry*, give someone a break*; see also approve 1, choose 1.

   Antonyms discharge, dismiss*, fire. *

2. To let

   let, rent, lease, charter, contract for; see also borrow 1, let 2, rent 1.

to hire, in strict usage, means to get, and let means to give the use of something in return for payment, although hire, which is also applied to persons or their services, may be used in either sense to hire a hall, a worker, etc., rooms to let; lease implies the letting or the hiring of property (usually real property) by written contract; rent implies payment of a specific amount, often at fixed intervals, for hiring or letting a house, land, equipment, a vehicle, etc.; charter implies the hiring or leasing of a ship, bus, etc.