These words mean to get or grant the temporary use or possession of something, as a car, building, etc., in return for a certain payment. To do one of these things under the provisions of a governing contract is to lease .

• I’m going to lease my house to a friend while I’m abroad next year; The land that the aluminium company leased proved to contain millions of tons of bauxite.

Hire is most commonly used in reference to paying a set sum or certain wages for a person’s labour or services: hiring a man to mow the lawn.

• We hired a driver to take us on a tour of the city.

Hire also indicates the granting of personal service or temporary use: to hire oneself out as a mathematics tutor during the holidays; to hire out beach umbrellas to surfers. It is also employed when one wishes to designate paying for the temporary, exclusive use of another’s vehicle, premises or the like.

• I hired a cab to take my girl home from the party; The school hired the local hall for its annual concert.

Charter is synonymous with hire in reference to vehicles, especially large public vehicles, as buses, aircraft and trains: We chartered a bus for the picnic. Charter , however, also designates a specialized kind of hiring done in connection with a contract called a charter -party, an agreement under which the whole or part of a vessel is leased for the conveyance of goods.

Rent is usually applied to the payment of an agreed amount for the temporary possession and use of premises, land or property. We rented a cottage at the seaside for the Christmas holidays; a flat-dweller who rented a nearby garage for his car. The sense of impermanence is not always present, however, as in the case of families who cannot afford to build a home or do not wish to, and who live in rented houses for periods of many years. As a synonym for rent , let refers exclusively to premises: My aunt lets the top floor of her house to an old occupants. With some exceptions, such as the hall mentioned above, rent normally pertains to premises and hire to other things; one rents a flat but hires a spray-painting outfit. In American usage, rent is interchangeable with hire

• a rented wedding gown

And this usage is gradually gaining ground in Australia and New Zealand, e.g., rent-a-car or car-rental services.