Understanding the Word ‘Hire’ for IELTS: Verb and Noun Usage
Learn the meaning, usage, and common mistakes associated with the word ‘hire’ in English. This video covers its use as both a verb and a noun, provides examples, and highlights differences between British and American English usage. Perfect for IELTS preparation and improving overall English skills.
Today we’re going to learn about an important word for IELTS learners: hire. This word is commonly used in both everyday conversations and formal contexts, so understanding it well can help improve your English skills.
Word type: Hire can be used as both a verb and a noun.
Meaning: As a verb, hire means to employ someone or to pay for the use of something for a short time.
As a noun, it refers to the act of hiring or the person who has been hired.
Word history: The word hire comes from Old English and has been used for over a thousand years.
Its meaning has remained largely the same throughout history.
Antonyms: Some opposite words for hire include fire, dismiss, or terminate when talking about employment.
For objects, return or give back are antonyms.
Synonyms: Words with similar meanings to hire include employ, recruit, or engage for people.
For objects, you might use rent or lease.
Examples use in sentences: Let’s look at how to use hire in different situations.
As a verb: The company plans to hire ten new employees next month. As a noun: The new hire will start work on Monday.
For objects: We need to hire a car for our vacation. Common errors in use: Some learners confuse hire with rent.
In British English, both words can be used for temporary use of objects. However, in American English, hire is mainly used for employing people, while rent is used for objects.
Another common mistake is using hire without to when it means employ. Remember to say hire someone to do something, not hire someone do something.
To wrap up, hire is a versatile word that’s essential for discussing employment and temporary use of objects.
Practice using it in different contexts to become more comfortable with its various applications. Remember the difference between its use as a verb and a noun, and pay attention to how it’s used in British versus American English.
Mastering words like hire will help you express yourself more clearly in English and perform better in your IELTS test.

