hire

/ˈhaɪ(.)ə/

//ˈhaɪ(.)ə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hire" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hire” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,628. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,628
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hire · hire · English

hire · rank #3,628 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,628
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hadn't

Nearest frequency peer: hadn't (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hire”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hire” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hire vs HR
0% similar
hire vs his
50% similar
hire vs hit
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hire
PropertyValue
Headwordhire
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhaɪ(.)ə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#3,628
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hire”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).hirelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “hadn't” (#3,627), “hop” (#3,629), “gods” (#3,626). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hire” is #3,628. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around hire (IPA /ˈhaɪ(.)ə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,628 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for hire, with forms such as "hhire", "hier", and "hirre". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "HR", "his", "hit", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hire, hyre, here, hure, from Old English hȳr (“employment for wages; pay for service; interest on money lent”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūʀiju (“payment”), from the verb *hūʀijan, from Proto-Germanic *hūzijaną, from Proto-Indo-European… The correct English form is hire, spelled H-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort.
  2. 2
    The state of being hired, or having a job; employment.
  3. 3
    Payment for the temporary use of something.
  4. 4
    Reward.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hire appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. We pair up each of our new hires with one of our original hires.
  2. Employment statistics, the other key indicator of Diversity & Inclusion performance, shows that almost 30% of new Southeastern hires are women.

Etymology

From Middle English hire, hyre, here, hure, from Old English hȳr (“employment for wages; pay for service; interest on money lent”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūʀiju (“payment”), from the verb *hūʀijan, from Proto-Germanic *hūzijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *kewHs- or *kweHs-. Compare Hittite 𒆪𒊭𒀭 (kuššan-, “fee, pay, wages, price”). Cognate with West Frisian hier (“hire”), Dutch huur (“lease, rental”), German Low German Hüür (“lease, rental”).

This word in other languages

alquiler(Español)Hilfsarbeiter(Deutsch)emprego(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhire
  • hier
  • hirre
  • hrie
  • ihre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hire - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

hhire1hier2hirre1hrie2ihre2
Edit distance from "hire"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hire"?
"hire" is spelled H-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhaɪ(.)ə/.
What does "hire" mean?
As a noun, "hire" means: A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort.
What words are commonly confused with "hire"?
"hire" is commonly confused with "HR", "his", "hit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hire" is /ˈhaɪ(.)ə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hire"?
From Middle English hire, hyre, here, hure, from Old English hȳr (“employment for wages; pay for service; interest on money lent”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūʀiju (“payment”), from the verb *hūʀijan, from Proto-Germanic *hūzijaną, from Proto-Ind... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hire", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

gods#3,626dean#3,615crap#3,613pray#3,648

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

marry5 variantscares5 variantssake5 variantsArab5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list