tenant

[ ten-uhnt ]

See synonyms for: tenant tenanted tenanting tenants 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

Other words from tenant

ten·ant·a·ble, adjective
ten·ant·less, adjective
ten·ant·like, adjective
non·ten·ant, noun
non·ten·ant·a·ble, adjective
un·ten·ant·a·ble, adjective
un·ten·ant·ed, adjective

Words that may be confused with tenant

tenant , tenet

Words Nearby tenant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tenant in a sentence

In mid–November, Fage138 bought shares of GameStop, a staple mall tenant that sells electronics and gaming merchandise.
A Reddit user on what it’s like to be part of “the mother of all short squeezes” | Samanth Subramanian | January 28, 2021 | Quartz
In recent years, building owners have offered such amenities as gyms and cafes to their tenants, he added, but those will likely be scaled back in favor of basics like cleanliness and smart technology.
Welcome to the ground floor: street-level offices for a post-pandemic world | Jessica Davies | January 11, 2021 | Digiday
In many cases, an eviction filing is enough to get tenants to move out, even though it technically is only the start of a larger process and tenants are not legally required to move out upon receiving the notice.
In 2021, a new wave of evictions could also fuel a rise in COVID cases | Kat Eschner | January 4, 2021 | Popular-Science
Flexibility in state and federal orders gives local judges discretion in terms of finding judgments against tenants, even if the actual removal is delayed by the moratoriums.
Trying to enjoy the holidays with eviction looming in the new year | Kyle Swenson | December 27, 2020 | Washington Post
Change making is a central tenant of how to survive and thrive and not just withstand crisis.
‘This Is Who I Am’ explores generational, physical distance | Patrick Folliard | December 26, 2020 | Washington Blade

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 | THE DAILY BEAST
El-Hamy Mahmoud El-Hamy, a Cairo landlord, recently urged a female tenant to buy a gun for self-defense purposes.
Egypt’s Arms Race | Sophia Jones | August 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
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 | THE DAILY BEAST
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 | THE DAILY BEAST
In other words two of the three possible scenarios would end up delivering a new tenant to the White House.
Why the Long Face, Democrats? | Michael Medved | November 1, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
When the harvest time arrives in December, each tenant carries his crop to the mill for grinding.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton Wade
The agitation for tenant-Right in Ireland is destined to fail—in fact, has virtually failed already.
Glances at Europe | Horace Greeley
But rents are going up in this neighborhood andWell, I can get a much more satisfactory tenant.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage | Gertrude W. Morrison
When a lease is about to expire a difficult question sometimes arises, what can the tenant take away with him?
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney Bolles
She neglected to say that she had paid the tenant a certain sum to leave the cottage and move into another house.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage | Gertrude W. Morrison

British Dictionary definitions for tenant

tenant

/ (ˈtɛnənt) /

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

Origin of tenant

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

Derived forms of tenant

tenantable, adjective
tenantless, adjective
tenant-like, adjective

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

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