featherbed vs hire

featherbed and hire both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
featherbed	Yes	No	Yes	No
hire	Yes	No	Yes	No

As verbs, hire is a hypernym of featherbed; that is, hire is a word with a broader meaning than featherbed:

Other hypernyms of featherbed include employ, engage.

featherbed (noun)	hire (noun)
a mattress stuffed with feathers	the act of hiring something or someone
	a newly hired employee

featherbed (verb)	hire (verb)
hire more workers than are necessary	engage for service under a term of contract
treat with excessive indulgence	engage or hire for work
	hold under a lease or rental agreement; of goods and services