tenant

[ten-uh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tenant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or group that rents and occupies land, a house, an office, or the like, from another for a period of time; lessee.

Law. a person who holds or possesses for a time lands, tenements, or personalty of another, usually for rent.

an occupant or inhabitant of any place.

verb (used with object)

to hold or occupy as a tenant; dwell in; inhabit.

verb (used without object)

to dwell or live (usually followed by in).

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

Related formsten·ant·a·ble, adjectiveten·ant·less, adjectiveten·ant·like, adjectivenon·ten·ant, nounnon·ten·ant·a·ble, adjectiveun·ten·ant·a·ble, adjectiveun·ten·ant·ed, adjective

Can be confusedtenant tenet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for tenant

dweller, resident, occupant, renter, inhabitant, holder, lodger, lessee, boarder, possessor, householder, roomer, addressee, leaseholder, indweller, occupier

Examples from the Web for tenant

Contemporary Examples of tenant

But the law itself is hard to enforce unless there is a specific complaint about a tenant.
Inside Uber’s Political War Machine
Olivia Nuzzi
June 30, 2014
Phineas has just suffered the defeat of his bill to strengthen the rights of Irish tenant farmers.
The Case for Trollope
David Frum
February 5, 2013
It occurs after Phineas has just suffered the defeat of his bill to improve the condition of Irish tenant farmers.
Trollope v Hardy
David Frum
January 28, 2013
He said to police, the tenant's "face could have run into my hand."
Rift Imperils Ground Zero Mosque
Asra Q. Nomani
August 30, 2010
In another instance, Sharif told a court he didn't hit a tenant from whom his brother and he were trying to collect back rent.
Rift Imperils Ground Zero Mosque
Asra Q. Nomani
August 30, 2010

Historical Examples of tenant

The last I heard of him, he was the tenant of a western penitentiary.
The Works of Whittier, Volume V (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
She was betrothed to a good young man, too: a tenant of his.
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
From something in your last, I would wish to explain my idea of being your tenant.
The Letters of Robert Burns
Robert Burns
I have no foolish notion of being a tenant on easier terms than another.
The Letters of Robert Burns
Robert Burns
No tenant could be found for the place, which was avoided as if the plague still clung to it.
Self-Help
Samuel Smiles

British Dictionary definitions for tenant

tenant

noun

a person who holds, occupies, or possesses land or property by any kind of right or title, esp from a landlord under a lease

a person who has the use of a house, flat, etc, subject to the payment of rent

any holder or occupant

verb

(tr) to hold (land or property) as a tenant

(intr foll by in) rare to dwell

Derived Formstenantable, adjectivetenantless, adjectivetenant-like, adjective

Word Origin for tenant

C14: from Old French, literally: (one who is) holding, from tenir to hold, from Latin tenēre

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

Word Origin and History for tenant

early 14c., "person who holds lands by title or by lease," from Anglo-French tenaunt (late 13c.), Old French tenant (12c.), noun use of present participle of tenir "to hold," from Latin tenere "hold, keep" (see tenet).