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hire, rent and let

hire and rent​

Hire and rent can mean: ‘pay for the use of something’. In British English, rent is used for arrangements involving a long period of time (one rents a house or a flat). For shorter periods (e.g. paying for a car, a boat, evening dress) rent and hire can both be used.

  • How much does it cost to rent a two-room flat?
  • I need to hire/rent a car for the weekend.

Hire (out) and rent (out) can also mean ‘sell the use of something’.

  • There’s a shop in High Street that hires/rents (out) evening dress.

In American English, rent is the normal word for both longer and shorter arrangements; hire, in American English, normally means ‘employ’.

let​

Let is used in British English, like rent (out), to talk about selling the use of rooms, houses, etc.

  • We let the upstairs room to a student.