rent-free

American

[rent-free] / ˈrɛntˈfri /

adverb

without payment of rent.

We lived rent-free for six months.

adjective

not subject to rent.

a rent-free apartment.

rent-free British

adjective

without payment of rent

"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 rent-free

First recorded in 1625–35; rent ¹ + -free

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.

The U.S. will occupy the site rent-free and administer it as a special economic zone.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

The situation, as you describe it, is a little more complicated, given that you will have five years to live in his home rent-free, except for property taxes, utilities and costs associated with other upkeep.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 20, 2026

If he continued to live there rent-free, that would create another issue.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 1, 2025

Sir Keir Starmer is facing Lib Dem calls for a select committee inquiry into the deal that let Prince Andrew live rent-free on the 30-room Royal Lodge for two decades.

From BBC • Oct. 23, 2025

Mother, Kate, and Maggie began to live there rent-free.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

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