tenant farmer

American

noun

a person who farms the land of another and pays rent with cash or with a portion of the produce.

tenant farmer British

noun

a person who farms land rented from another, the rent usually taking the form of part of the crops grown or livestock reared

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tenant farmer

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

tenant farmer

David Jenkins, a tenant farmer for the National Trust for more than 15 years, said he had to leave six or 12-metre margins at the edge of the field.

From BBC ● May 16, 2026

Watching the harvest, tenant farmer Mohamed Ragab, 40, doubts it will bring profit.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

The son of a tenant farmer, Walker and his family worried that an injury in his senior year could jeopardize his professional career and the millions of dollars awaiting him there.

From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2022

Mahmad Ewaz, 28, a former tenant farmer and father of four who fled fighting in Helmand province two years ago, listened to his 1-year-old daughter coughing and contemplated a single log resting in the corner.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 8, 2022

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

From "Mississippi Trial, 1955" by Chris Crowe

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023