tenant
Americannoun
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a person or group that rents and occupies land, a house, an office, or the like, from another for a period of time; lessee.
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Law. a person who holds or possesses for a time lands, tenements, or personalty of another, usually for rent.
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an occupant or inhabitant of any place.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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a person who holds, occupies, or possesses land or property by any kind of right or title, esp from a landlord under a lease
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a person who has the use of a house, flat, etc, subject to the payment of rent
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any holder or occupant
verb
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(tr) to hold (land or property) as a tenant
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rare to dwell
Other Word Forms
- nontenant noun
- nontenantable adjective
- tenant-like adjective
- tenantable adjective
- tenantless adjective
- tenantlike adjective
- untenantable adjective
- untenanted adjective
Etymology
Origin of tenant
1250–1300; Middle English tena ( u ) nt < Anglo-French; Middle French tenant, noun use of present participle of tenir to hold ≪ Latin tenēre. See -ant
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.
It spans just over 1,500 square feet and sits on a lot that offers more than 6,000 square feet, providing ample outdoor space for tenants.
From MarketWatch
She said instead of an outright ban, "institutional investors should be required to provide more for their tenants".
From BBC
“In the last 10 or 15 years, the demographics of the South Bay have become increasingly desirable for not only residents, but for businesses and retail tenants,” Neumann said.
From Los Angeles Times
If this were a tenant whom you didn’t know, you would evict them and pull your hair out over how anyone could feel so entitled as to take something for nothing.
From MarketWatch
In mobile home parks, tenants lease their spaces from the landowners but own the homes placed on the land.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
