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

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

The company is already Hollywood’s biggest commercial tenant, where it rents about 1.5 million square feet of office and studio space, and it owns the historic Egyptian Theatre, which it acquired in 2020.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

My sister-in-law had become close to a new friend — her tenant — and had decided this person would be a better choice.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

The terms of the relationship with a tenant have to be carefully scrutinized, too, and there is the future risk that the tenant doesn’t renew a lease.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

“Oh, no, the same luck as most tenant farmers. That’s what happens when you’re a tenant farmer.”

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

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

The suit alleged that tenants in thousands of rental units were charged illegal fees, while the company failed to maintain the properties.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Landlords have started offering more buyouts to tenants living in rent-controlled apartments, and rent increases are spreading to Oakland, Calif., and San Jose.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

There had also been a surge in hidden homelessness as landlords evicted tenants before the Renters' Rights Act came into force, she said.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

He instructed the tenants to air out their kitchens before lighting ovens.

From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin

Related Words

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