Dear jmh: In US, "recruit" means to hunt for talent. But many are called, and few are chosen. Dictionary: to seek to enroll (students) in a college, university, etc., as for the purpose of playing a varsity sportIt is interesting to look it up using onelook.com. The entries appear fairly similar, it is the example sentences for recruit in the Cambridge dictionary that give away the different usages. You have the military sense of recruit, I think (eg Raw recruit), interesting that we use it for business recruitment too. I wonder if it was ever used in the US in that sense and was replaced by "hire" or if it was it always so.
I also note that the term "hire purchase" is described as only British and Australian. What would be the US term?
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recruit(from Cambridge International Dictionary of English)
noun, verb
(to persuade someone to become) a new member of an organization, esp. the army
The raw recruits (=new soldiers) were trained for six months and then sent to the war front. [C]
Charities such as Oxfam are always trying to recruit volunteers to help in their work. [T]
Even young boys are now being recruited to the army. [T]
a recruiting centre/officer
recruitment
noun [U]
The recession has forced a lot of companies to cut down on graduate recruitment.
It's all part of a recruitment drive intended to increase the party's falling numbers.
He works for a recruitment consultancy in London.
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recruit(from Cambridge Dictionary of American English)
verb [T]
to persuade (someone) to become a new member of an organization
The coach spends a lot of time recruiting the top high school athletes.
recruit
noun [C]
a new member of an organization, esp. a military organization
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Main Entry: 1
re·cruit Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
Pronunciation: ri-'krüt
Date: 1643
transitive senses
1 a (1) : to fill up the number of (as an army) with new members : REINFORCE (2) : to enlist as a member of an armed service b : to increase or maintain the number of <America recruited her population from Europe> c : to secure the services of : ENGAGE, HIRE d : to seek to enroll <recruit students>
2 : REPLENISH
3 : to restore or increase the health, vigor, or intensity of
intransitive senses : to enlist new members
- re·cruit·er noun
Main Entry: 2recruit
Function: noun
Etymology: French recrute, recrue fresh growth, new levy of soldiers, from Middle French, from recroistre to grow up again, from Latin recrescere, from re- + crescere to grow -- more at CRESCENT
Date: circa 1645
1 : a fresh or additional supply
2 : a newcomer to a field or activity; specifically : a newly enlisted or drafted member of the armed forces
3 : a former enlisted man of the lowest rank in the army
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hire(from Cambridge Dictionary of American English)
verb [T]
to start to employ (someone)
You ought to hire a lawyer to handle your taxes.
hire
noun [C]
an employee
Those retiring will be replaced by new hires.
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hire(from Cambridge International Dictionary of English)
verb [T]
to pay to use (something) for a short period or to pay (someone) to do a job temporarily, or esp. Am to start to employ (someone)
How much would it cost to hire (AM USUALLY rent) a car for a fortnight? [T]
You could always hire (AM USUALLY rent) a dress for the ball if you can't afford to buy one.
I had to hire a gardener for a couple of months when I broke my leg.
We ought to hire a public relations consultant to help improve our image. [+ obj + to infinitive]
ESPECIALLY AMERICAN Our continuing success means that we will need to hire a hundred more staff over the coming year.
(British and Australian) Hire purchase (Am Installment plan) is a system of paying for something in which the buyer pays part of the cost immediately and then makes small regular payments until the debt is reduced to nothing.
Something bought on hire purchase is usually more expensive because an interest charge is added to the original price.
hire
noun [U]
There's a camping shop in town that has tents for hire (AM USUALLY rent) at £10 a week.
How much would it cost for the hire (AM USUALLY rental) of a moped for the weekend?
They run a hire car business (=a business renting cars to people).
He had an accident while he was driving a hire car (=a car that had been hired).
hired
adjective [not gradable]
a hired car
The police believe he was killed by a hired assassin.
My mother has a hired help (=She pays someone to help her in her home).
hiring
noun [C usually pl]
The office has completely changed in the past few weeks because there have been so many hirings and firings (=a lot of new people have been employed and a lot of others have lost their jobs).
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