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definitions

lease

1
[lees]
noun
  1. a contract renting land, buildings, etc., to another; a contract or instrument conveying property to another for a specified period or for a period determinable at the will of either lessor or lessee in consideration of rent or other compensation.
  2. the property leased.
  3. the period of time for which a lease is made: a five-year lease.
verb (used with object), leased, leas·ing.
  1. to grant the temporary possession or use of (lands, tenements, etc.) to another, usually for compensation at a fixed rate; let: She plans to lease her apartment to a friend.
  2. to take or hold by lease: He leased the farm from the sheriff.
verb (used without object), leased, leas·ing.
  1. to grant a lease; let or rent: to lease at a lower rental.
Idioms
  1. a new lease on life, a chance to improve one's situation or to live longer or more happily: Plastic surgery gave him a new lease on life.

Origin of lease

1
1350–1400; Middle English les < Anglo-French (equivalent to Old French lais, French legs legacy), noun derivative of lesser to lease, literally, let go (equivalent to Old French laissier) < Latin laxāre to release, let go. See lax
Related formsleas·a·ble, adjectivelease·less, adjectiveleas·er, nounun·leas·a·ble, adjectiveun·leased, adjectivewell-leased, adjective

Synonyms for lease

5. rent, charter, hire.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for leaser

Historical Examples of leaser

  • Of the private, and other officers of leaser rank, this is especially true.

    In Ancient Albemarle

    Catherine Albertson

British Dictionary definitions for leaser

lease

1
noun
  1. a contract by which property is conveyed to a person for a specified period, usually for rent
  2. the instrument by which such property is conveyed
  3. the period of time for which it is conveyed
  4. a prospect of renewed health, happiness, etca new lease of life
verb (tr)
  1. to grant possession of (land, buildings, etc) by lease
  2. to take a lease of (property); hold under a lease
Derived Formsleasable, adjectiveleaser, noun

Word Origin for lease

C15: via Anglo-French from Old French lais (n), from laissier to let go, from Latin laxāre to loosen

lease

2
noun
  1. dialect open pasture or common

Word Origin for lease

Old English lǣs; perhaps related to Old Norse lāth property
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
Word Origin and History for leaser

lease

v.

late 15c., "to take a lease," from Anglo-French lesser, Old French laissier "to let, leave" (see lease (n.). Related: Leased; leasing. Lessor, lessee in contract language preserves the Anglo-French form.

lease

n.

late 14c., "legal contract conveying property, usually for a fixed period of time and with a fixed compensation," from Anglo-French les (late 13c.), from lesser "to let, let go," from Old French laissier "to let, allow, permit; bequeath, leave," from Latin laxare "loosen, open, make wide," from laxus "loose" (see lax). Modern French equivalent legs is altered by erroneous derivation from Latin legatum "bequest, legacy."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
leaser in Culture

lease

A contract that grants possession of property for a specified period of time in return for some kind of compensation.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with leaser

lease

see new lease on life.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.