tenant

American  

[ten-uhnt] / ˈtɛn ənt /

noun

1. a person or group that rents and occupies land, a house, an office, or the like, from another for a period of time; lessee.

2. Law. a person who holds or possesses for a time lands, tenements, or personalty of another, usually for rent.

3. an occupant or inhabitant of any place.

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verb (used with object)

1. to hold or occupy as a tenant; dwell in; inhabit.

verb (used without object)

1. to dwell or live (usually followed byin ).

tenant British  

/ ˈtɛnənt /

noun

1. a person who holds, occupies, or possesses land or property by any kind of right or title, esp from a landlord under a lease

2. a person who has the use of a house, flat, etc, subject to the payment of rent

3. any holder or occupant

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verb

1. (tr) to hold (land or property) as a tenant

2. rare to dwell

Other Word Forms

• nontenant noun
• nontenantable adjective
• tenant-like adjective
• tenantable adjective
• tenantless adjective
• tenantlike adjective
• untenantable adjective
• untenanted adjective

Etymology

Origin of tenant

1250–1300; Middle English tena ( u ) nt < Anglo-French; Middle French tenant, noun use of present participle of tenir to hold ≪ Latin tenēre. See -ant

Explanation

A tenant is someone who lives in a place owned by someone else, usually paying rent. If you blast your music and let the cat pee in the corner, your landlord will not think that you're a very good tenant. Tenant is often used to mean "renter," but it can mean anyone who has the right to live in a particular place, either because he signed a lease, which is a rental agreement, because he owns the land, or because government gave him a title to it. If you live in a big apartment building, you should be aware of your rights as a tenant, which usually include things like having heat in the winter and proper fire escapes.

Example Sentences

Factoring in rent from the tenant, our out-of-pocket costs for the mortgage would be $4,000 per month.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

Capital Group is already an anchor tenant in Bank of America Plaza, and it will consolidate other offices there after the sale closes.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Data-center developer Fermi has not secured a cornerstone tenant for its Project Matador campus in Amarillo, Texas.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

A New York developer last year completed construction of a million-square-foot warehouse about 45 miles east of Atlanta, but couldn’t find a tenant.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

The youth was visiting his uncle, Mose Wright, a tenant farmer.

From "Mississippi Trial, 1955" by Chris Crowe

Related Words

• dweller
• holder
• inhabitant
• occupant
• renter
• resident