What does hirable mean?
Hirable means able or willing to be employed, recruited, or taken on as an employee. It is commonly used to describe a person who has attractive skills, experience, or personal qualities, as in a highly hirable candidate, although the expression can sometimes sound less natural than describing someone as in demand. The adjective may also indicate that a person is legally or practically available for work. Hirable and hireable are accepted spelling variants, with preferences varying among regions and dictionaries. The word is especially useful in recruitment, career advice, and employment contexts because it concisely combines the ideas of suitability and availability. It should not be used to imply that someone has a particular job offer, and when legal eligibility is intended, a more explicit phrase such as eligible to work may be preferable.
adjectiveAble or willing to be employed or recruited. It may also indicate that someone or something is available for hire.
- Able or willing to be employed or recruited.
- Available or suitable for hire.
"Her rare combination of technical expertise and communication skills made her one of the most hirable candidates in the industry."
"Her rare combination of technical expertise and communication skills made her one of the most hirable candidates in the industry."
"Unlike a generic applicant, she was immediately hirable and could begin work the following Monday."
Hirable and hireable may look like competing words, but they are simply two spellings for the same useful job-related adjective.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hirable come from?
The word hire descends from Old English hȳr, meaning payment, wages, or hire. Hirable combines this base with the suffix -able, which comes ultimately from Latin -abilis and expresses the sense able to be or capable of being. The resulting adjective literally means able to be hired, and the same root also underlies related forms such as hiree, hirer, and hireling.
How hirable is actually used
The word is most often applied to people or their qualifications. In formal prose, alternatives such as available for hire or eligible for employment may communicate the intended meaning more directly.
Easily confused with hirable
Hirable and hireable are variant spellings of the same adjective, although regional and dictionary usage differ in which form is preferred.