rent

[ rent ]

/ rɛnt /

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See synonyms for: rent / rented / renting on Thesaurus.com

noun

a payment made periodically by a tenant to a landlord in return for the use of land, a building, an apartment, an office, or other property.

a payment or series of payments made by a lessee to an owner in return for the use of machinery, equipment, etc.

Economics. the excess of the produce or return yielded by a given piece of cultivated land over the cost of production; the yield from a piece of land or real estate.

profit or return derived from any differential advantage in production.

Obsolete. revenue or income.

verb (used with object)

to grant the possession and enjoyment of (property, machinery, etc.) in return for the payment of rent from the tenant or lessee (often followed byout).

to take and hold (property, machinery, etc.) in return for the payment of rent to the landlord or owner.

verb (used without object)

to be leased or let for rent: This apartment rents cheaply.

to lease or let property.

to take possession of and use property by paying rent: She rents from a friend.

OTHER WORDS FOR rent

6 lease, let.

7 lease.

See synonyms for rent on Thesaurus.com

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Idioms about rent

for rent, available to be rented, as a home or store: an apartment for rent.

Origin of rent

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English noun rent(e), from Old French from unattested Vulgar Latin rendita, feminine past participle of unattested rendere; verb derivative of the noun; see origin at render¹

synonym study for rent

7. See hire.

OTHER WORDS FROM rent

rent·a·bil·i·ty, nounrent·a·ble, adjectiveun·rent·a·ble, adjective

Words nearby rent

renovate, renovation, renown, renowned, rensselaerite, rent, rent-a-, rent-a-car, rental, rental collection, rental library

Other definitions for rent (2 of 2)

rent²

[ rent ]

/ rɛnt /

noun

an opening made by rending or tearing; slit; fissure.

a breach of relations or union between individuals or groups; schism.

verb

simple past tense and past participle of rend.

OTHER WORDS FOR rent

1 tear, split, rift, cleft, rip; rupture, fracture.

2 division, separation.

See synonyms for rent on Thesaurus.com

Origin of rent

First recorded in 1325–75 for verb sense; 1525–35 for def. 1; Middle English; see rend

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rent in a sentence

It wasn’t just a question of how the restaurant was going to pay rent month-to-month, but also how they could afford to pay what would amount to more than $30,000 in missed rent at the end of the year.
Is the Government Just Going to Watch the Restaurant Industry Die?|Elazar Sontag|August 28, 2020|Eater
Sherry told the Blade she and other tenants paid their rent by the week.
New Orleans shelter to be ‘forever home’ for homeless trans people|Michael K. Lavers|August 27, 2020|Washington Blade
In addition to offering vans for rent, it’s open to members who already have their own vans.
The New Camper Companies Redefining Road Travel|Alex Temblador|August 27, 2020|Outside Online
If a housing authority brings in fewer dollars from rent payments, it doesn’t get more money.
She Was Sued Over Rent She Didn’t Owe. It Took Seven Court Dates to Prove She Was Right.|by Danielle Ohl, Capital Gazette, and Talia Buford and Beena Raghavendran, ProPublica|August 25, 2020|ProPublica

Struggling restaurants say it’s a lifeline, letting them rehire bartenders, pay rent and reestablish relationships with customers.
Number of states allowing to-go cocktails has surged from 2 to 33 during coronavirus|Lee Clifford|August 24, 2020|Fortune
The first 30 years of his life, he helped his father build and then rent out Rockefeller Center at a difficult time.
This Republican Loved Taxes & Modern Art|Scott Porch|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And actual vote-buying is a pretty low-rent form of corruption anyway.
Undo Citizens United? We’d Only Scratch the Surface|Jedediah Purdy|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The winter air is rent with cries from thousands of puffed up lips, begging to be let in.
Russia’s Gold Digger Academy|Peter Pomerantsev|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Squeezing what rent he could from the tenants, Washington moved on.
Washington’s Wheeler-Dealer Patriotism|William O’Connor|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The journey began well, as Washington managed to collect some rent from war-ravaged tenants in Cumberland.
Washington’s Wheeler-Dealer Patriotism|William O’Connor|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rent, the share of the land-owner, offered to the classicist a rather peculiar case.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
A fourth lives upon rent, dozing in his chair, and neither toils nor spins.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
You may have similar qualms over rent and the rightness and wrongness of it.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
He wishes to cultivate it still, and offers to renew the lease for any number of years, and pay the rent punctually.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
The high rent of a Broadway store, says the economist, does not add a single cent to the price of the things sold in it.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock

British Dictionary definitions for rent (1 of 2)

rent¹

/ (rɛnt) /

noun

a payment made periodically by a tenant to a landlord or owner for the occupation or use of land, buildings, or by a user for the use of other property, such as a telephone

economics

that portion of the national income accruing to owners of land and real property
the return derived from the cultivation of land in excess of production costs
See economic rent

for rent mainly US and Canadian available for use and occupation subject to the payment of rent

verb

(tr) to grant (a person) the right to use one's property in return for periodic payments

(tr) to occupy or use (property) in return for periodic payments

(intr often foll by at) to be let or rented (for a specified rental)

Derived forms of rent

rentability, nounrentable, adjective

Word Origin for rent

C12: from Old French rente revenue, from Vulgar Latin rendere (unattested) to yield; see render

British Dictionary definitions for rent (2 of 2)

rent²

/ (rɛnt) /

noun

a slit or opening made by tearing or rending; tear

a breach or division, as in relations

verb

the past tense and past participle of rend

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

rent

OTHER WORDS FOR rent

Idioms about rent

Origin of rent

synonym study for rent

OTHER WORDS FROM rent

Words nearby rent

Other definitions for rent (2 of 2)

OTHER WORDS FOR rent

Origin of rent

Words related to rent

How to use rent in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rent (1 of 2)

Derived forms of rent

Word Origin for rent

British Dictionary definitions for rent (2 of 2)