rent

¹

[rent]

noun

1. 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.

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

3. 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.

4. profit or return derived from any differential advantage in production.

5. Obsolete.,  revenue or income.

verb (used with object)

1. 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 ).

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

   Synonyms: lease, let, lease

verb (used without object)

1. to be leased or let for rent.

   This apartment rents cheaply.

2. to lease or let property.

3. to take possession of and use property by paying rent.

   She rents from a friend.

rent

²

[rent]

noun

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

   Synonyms: fracture, rupture, rip, cleft, rift, split, tear

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

   Synonyms: separation, division

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of rend.

rent

¹

/ rɛnt /

noun

1. 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

2. economics

   1. that portion of the national income accruing to owners of land and real property

   2. the return derived from the cultivation of land in excess of production costs

   3. See economic rent

3. available for use and occupation subject to the payment of rent

verb

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

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

3. to be let or rented (for a specified rental)

rent

²

/ rɛnt /

noun

1. a slit or opening made by tearing or rending; tear

2. a breach or division, as in relations

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of rend

Other Word Forms

• rentability noun
• rentable adjective
• unrentable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rent¹

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; render ¹

Origin of rent²

First recorded in 1325–75 for verb sense; 1525–35 rent ² for def. 1; Middle English; rend

Word History and Origins

Origin of rent¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. for rent, available to be rented, as a home or store.

   an apartment for rent.

Synonym Study

See hire.

Example Sentences

It was once a bustling community with Japanese boarding houses that offered affordable rent and home-cooked meals.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A year later, Biggs fell into a legal dispute with city of Los Angeles over a plan to split up the property that residents characterized as a move to circumvent rent control.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Still, the local Black population has been shrinking for decades amid rising rents and home prices.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The government alleges that Ms. James misrepresented a home she bought in Norfolk, Va., in 2020 as a secondary residence when in fact she rented it out.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“TikTok is nice because it’s only three words and nobody asks any questions. ‘Freeze the rent.’

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• borrow 
• charter 
• hire 
• lease 
• sublet