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Showing results for rent-free. Search instead for rent-burden.

rent-free

American  
[rent-free] / ˈrɛntˈfri /

adverb

  1. without payment of rent.

    We lived rent-free for six months.

adjective

  1. not subject to rent.

    a rent-free apartment.
rent-free British  

adjective

  1. 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

Even if he does legally own one third of this property, that does not mean he has an automatic — or even unlimited — right to live there rent-free.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 16, 2025

He is letting his son stay in one of the residences rent-free until it sells.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 11, 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

She’ll have a rent-free apartment until the end of next year; maybe that’ll help her get back on her feet.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

Definitions 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.