tenant

American  

[ten-uhnt] / ˈtɛn ənt /

noun

• tenants
  plural

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

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

3. an occupant or inhabitant of any place.

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verb (used with object)

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

verb (used without object)

1. to dwell or live (usually followed byin ).

tenant British  

/ ˈtɛnənt /

noun

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

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

3. any holder or occupant

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verb

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

2. rare to dwell

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nontenant
  noun
• nontenantable
  adjective
• tenant-like
  adjective
• tenantable
  adjective
• tenantless
  adjective
• tenantlike
  adjective
• untenantable
  adjective
• untenanted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tenants
  plural

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

Explanation

A tenant is someone who lives in a place owned by someone else, usually paying rent. If you blast your music and let the cat pee in the corner, your landlord will not think that you're a very good tenant. Tenant is often used to mean "renter," but it can mean anyone who has the right to live in a particular place, either because he signed a lease, which is a rental agreement, because he owns the land, or because government gave him a title to it. If you live in a big apartment building, you should be aware of your rights as a tenant, which usually include things like having heat in the winter and proper fire escapes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tenant tenants

Thomas A. Sirianni, a lawyer based in Brookville, N.Y., addresses this exact question and what happens if the tenant does not comply.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

In a net-lease investment, the investor owns the property while the tenant pays rent and typically covers expenses such as taxes, insurance and maintenance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Tell the landlord the same thing, and ask if he would contact the previous tenant.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Kevin, a tenant who also works in property sales for Forest City, believes scammers are still operating in "condominiums or serviced apartments" in the complex.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

If the Newfoundland dog was a heavier tenant in his stomach than the kitten, it was more restful.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

If your father-in-law’s occupants are tenants, it’s more complicated.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

He owned a house in the New York City area with a mortgage, and there are currently two tenants renting rooms in the house.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

To qualify for residency, tenants of Viva must have an average income of about 60% of the area’s median income, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Off-balance-sheet exposures at some companies include agreements to buy other companies’ stock in the future or backstop leases for other tenants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

“Guess what—I have new tenants for my apartment. How about that, then?”

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke

Related Words

• dweller
• holder
• inhabitant
• occupant
• renter
• resident