Higher or hire?
higher is a noun meaning “A national school-leaving examination and university entrance qualification”; hire is a noun meaning “A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) higher is about 6.0 times as common as hire.
What is the difference between higher and hire?
| higher | hire | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb, adjective, adverb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | ScotlandA national school-leaving examination and university entrance qualification To make higher; to raise or increase in amount or quantity To ascend | A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort The state of being hired, or having a job; employment AustraliaUKTo obtain the services of in return for fixed payment |
| Example | none recorded | We pair up each of our new hires with one of our original hires |
| Forms | highers | hires |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhaɪ.ə/ /ˈhaɪ.ɚ/ /həjːɜ(r)/ | /ˈhaɪ(.)ə/ /ˈhaɪɹ/ /ˈhɑɪ.əɹ/ |
| In writing | 151 times per million words | 25 times per million words |
Sources: higher and hire in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of higher and hire
higher
- 1
ScotlandA national school-leaving examination and university entrance qualification
- 2
To make higher; to raise or increase in amount or quantity
- 3
To ascend
hire
- 1
A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort
We pair up each of our new hires with one of our original hires
- 2
AustraliaUKTo obtain the services of in return for fixed payment
We hired a car for two weeks because ours had broken down
- 3
The state of being hired, or having a job; employment
When my grandfather retired, he had over twenty mechanics in his hire
- 4
UKTo occupy premises in exchange for rent
- 5
Payment for the temporary use of something
The sign offered pedalos on hire
- 6
To employ; to obtain the services of (a person) in exchange for remuneration; to give someone a job
The company had problems when it tried to hire more skilled workers
- 7
To exchange the services of for remuneration
They hired themselves out as day laborers. They hired out their basement for Inauguration week
- 8
UKTo accomplish by paying for services
After waiting two years for her husband to finish the tiling, she decided to hire it done
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, higher or hire?
higher appears 151 times per million words; hire 25 times per million words.
higher 151 times per million wordshire 25 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).