lodger
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of lodger
1250–1300; Middle English loger tent-dweller. See lodge, -er 1
Explanation
A lodger is a person who rents a room in someone's house. If you rent out a room in your house, guess what? You'll have a lodger living with you. As opposed to a renter, who rents an entire apartment or house, a lodger generally leases only a bedroom, sharing the use of the kitchen and bathroom with the house's other inhabitants. You could also call a lodger a "roomer" or a "boarder." Lodger comes from lodge, "small house," from the Old French loge, "hut or cabin."
Vocabulary lists containing lodger
Habibi
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Ripped Away
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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.
I’d take out a 15-year mortgage and get a lodger.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Under California civil code, if this man has lived in your friend’s with her permission and pays no rent, he may still be considered a lodger or “tenant at will,” which gives him legal protections.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Recognizing her as a fellow lodger, Sellers sent his valet to knock on her door.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026
“If it was a house, I’d be a lodger or a tenant or whatever you call it in America,” he laughs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2024
Following that, the lodger actually went immediately with long strides into the hall.
From "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
