What does hiring mean?
Hiring names the process of finding, recruiting, and employing people to perform work, though it can also mean obtaining the use of property or equipment for payment. In its dominant modern sense, it commonly appears in workplace and business contexts, as in hiring decisions, hiring managers, hiring processes, and hiring freezes. The term generally concerns the employer’s active selection and engagement of workers, with related concepts such as recruitment and staffing. As a gerund, hiring can describe either the broader activity or an action underway, such as hiring temporary staff. The word is useful because it captures not merely the employment relationship itself but the organizational process that brings someone into a role. Its less common sense, applying to renting or engaging property or equipment, reflects the older and broader meaning of “hire.”
The process of recruiting and employing someone for a job, or the act of obtaining the use of property or equipment for payment.
"The company is conducting a hiring program for its new technology division."
The employment sense is dominant; the rental or engagement sense is also established.
An action in progress involving recruiting or employing someone, or obtaining the use of something for payment.
"They are hiring additional staff to handle the growing workload."
This form is commonly used with a subject performing the action, especially in workplace contexts.
Hiring is the moment an organization decides not merely what a job is, but who gets to do it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hiring come from?
The word “hiring” comes from the English verb “hire,” which descends from Old English hȳr, a Germanic word associated with payment for use or service. The modern employment sense developed alongside the older sense of paying for the temporary use of a person’s labor, property, or equipment. English forms such as “hireling,” “hireless,” and “hirer” continue to reflect the same historical root, while related forms appear in other Germanic languages.
Related word forms
How hiring is actually used
In modern business and employment contexts, hiring usually refers to recruiting employees. It can also refer to renting or engaging property, equipment, or services, though that sense is less frequent.
Easily confused with hiring
Hiring refers to recruiting or employing workers, whereas firing refers to dismissing or terminating them.