What's the difference between "rent" and "hire" in British and American English?

Solution 1:

In the US the word rent is for objects (cars, tv's, house, tool) and the word hire is for people/service. I cannot think of an example when this is not the case (I am sure a few odd examples exist though).

Upon getting comment from @user814064 I would add:

Rent can be used for a person/service if it is designated for a brief period. But in all of those cases the word hire could also be used.

In the example: "Rent a pilot" it would mean that you will use a pilot's service for one time or a short contracted time. It would also be perfectly acceptable to use "hire a pilot".

I think the missing word here is buy. If you take permanent ownership of an object the common term is buy - and then you own it. You wouldn't want to tell your wife that you hired a backhoe.

Solution 2:

My answer is very similar to the other answers, but my emphasis is on how much you want to interact with the object/person.

Rent - To rent someone/something means you are going to use it to accomplish a task. (a lot of interaction)

• I would rent a car so that I can use it to drive around
• I would rent a DVD so that I can watch the movie on it

Hire - To hire someone/something means you have a task and you want what you hired to accomplish it for you. (little or no interaction)

• I would hire a contractor to build my house for me
• I would hire a landscaper to mow my lawn for me

One example I can think of that illustrates my point, and only differs in the use of hire/rent would be:

I'm going to rent a backhoe to do some landscaping.

• This implies you are going to be doing the work yourself, and you just need to get the backhoe.

I'm going to hire a backhoe to do some landscaping.

• This implies that you are not going to do the work yourself. It implies you are hiring a backhoe (and its operator) to do the work for you.

Solution 3:

As a partial answer to this question, for American English -

Rent means to pay for the utility of an object, property, or service provided by another individual. You could rent a boat, you could rent a house, you could even rent a date in some illicit websites, though I wouldn't recommend it.

Hire means to pay for a service provided by another individual or organization, BUT, as seen in the definition, it can also mean 'to engage in temporary use for a fee', and "hire out a car" is acceptable, with the understanding that an organization is providing the car for use. "Hire" is, however, used mostly to say "pay for temporary service of an individual or organization", and while hiring a car does sometimes appear, more commonly it is used to indicate the hiring of a professional, such as a lawyer or baker. It can also mean hiring a company, such as hiring a catering service, hiring a law firm, or hiring a construction crew, in each case the organization provides the service. It can ALSO mean to add someone to a work force, as in 'hiring on an employee'.

The difference here is that "rent" is usually used for objects, and even though it technically can be used for 'renting out' a person, the connotation of renting someone is a stronger degree of obligation on the person being 'rented out'. You have jurisdiction to do whatever you desire to your 'rented' property (beyond irrepairable damage), but when you hire someone or something, it is under the connotation that the organization or individual holds control over their own actions or property (though I would not recommend damaging rented property, as the renter will likely make you pay for the damages!)

Solution 4:

Because the differences between British and American English usage of rent and hire wasn't really dealt with, I did some research and came up with this rather detailed summary.

• Rent (the fixed amount of money you pay to an owner for the use of something, especially that you pay regularly for; a room, a home, an office etc.)

American English

As noted by RyeBread, Zibbobz and tehDorf, in the USA only goods and accommodation are rented; in extremely rare cases are they said to be hired. The contract to rent an item or property can be either short or long term, for example: rent a car; rent a Halloween costume; rent an apartment; rent a movie; etc.

Rent accommodation (out) to
The owner of the property rents out to tenants, the sign displayed outside a home advertising its availability will have the words: House for rent.

Goods
The consumer (or lessee) also has the opportunity to purchase the rented good(s) by paying the rental fee for a length of time or by paying a lump sum payment. This form of purchasing is known as rent-to-own or installment plan.

British English

In the UK it is more common to rent goods (TVs, furniture etc.) and accommodation on a long term contract.

Rent accommodation out / Let
Houses, flats (apartments AmEng) etc. which are rented are usually let in the UK. A home displaying a sign in the window might have the words: Rooms to let. A British home owner might say: "We live in the downstairs flat and let the upstairs one to tenants." Let and rent are nevertheless, both common terms used in the UK.

Hire
an agreement where a person pays for an object or property to use for a short period of time.

As previously mentioned in the question; goods in the UK can be hired or bought on HP (Hire and Purchase). Regardless of its size, any object can be hired in the UK be it a bicycle, a DVD, a room to host a conference or even a castle. But the arrangement is usually a temporary one. E.g; Windsurfing and water skiing equipment on hire; "prices include return flights and car hire"; "they hired a marquee for the wedding". And clothes are hired, usually for single occasions, not rented.

• Hire (to employ or give somebody a job)

In both the UK and in the US the expressions hire and employ are used for employing people on part-time or on permanent contracts. The small difference being that the expressions take on, and employ are used more frequently in the UK compared to the US.

@Barrie England's answer (see link) offers a further alternative: "In the UK, we might be more inclined to appoint a consultant."

Main source: Cambridge Business English Dictionary