tenant

[ ten-uhnt ]

/ ˈtɛn ənt /

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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).

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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, adjectiveten·ant·less, adjectiveten·ant·like, adjectivenon·ten·ant, noun

non·ten·ant·a·ble, adjectiveun·ten·ant·a·ble, adjectiveun·ten·ant·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH tenant

tenant , tenet

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

How to use tenant in a sentence

At Painted Stave Distilling, order a to-go cocktail, such as a buttered pecan Old-Fashioned or a spiced pear Collins, or reserve a seat in the garden at the Old Smyrna Theater, a previous tenant.
In Delaware, a new Instagram-friendly driving trail spotlights local artists and sites|Andrea Sachs|November 6, 2020|Washington Post
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ban through the end of this year allows tenants in many cases to file paperwork to halt the process.
Management company owned by Jared Kushner files to evict hundreds of families as moratoriums expire|Jonathan O'Connell, Aaron Gregg, Anu Narayanswamy|November 5, 2020|Washington Post
The problem was, it wasn’t affordable anymore because requiring landlords to keep up the housing, they’re going to pass those costs along to the tenant.
Why Are Cities (Still) So Expensive? (Ep. 435)|Stephen J. Dubner|October 15, 2020|Freakonomics
So when there’s no legislation and all these individual relationship playing out, tenants are seeing disparities — one tenant is getting a 50 percent rent reduction, and one tenant is being told they can’t reduce the rent at all.
The Power Landlords Have Over Restaurants Right Now|Ellie Krupnick|October 1, 2020|Eater

There was no internet, and when his mother called Comcast to ask about the free Wi-Fi it was offering to the families of Baltimore schoolchildren, she was told that a previous tenant had applied, so she couldn’t do so herself.
The Students Left Behind by Remote Learning|by Alec MacGillis|September 28, 2020|ProPublica
He soon became satisfied it was tenanted only by a man and woman; if there were children they were asleep.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
All of them, except one, are let, and it would speedily be tenanted if more conveniently located.
Our Churches and Chapels|Atticus
His wife was taken to the prison of the Abbaye, and given the cell which was to be tenanted, six weeks later, by Charlotte Corday.
The Stones of Paris in History and Letters, Volume I (of 2)|Benjamin Ellis Martin
But when the hunter reached the scene of the ruthless massacre, the ledge was tenanted only by the dead.
The Last of the Mohicans|James Fenimore Cooper
There are very few tracts of treeless land in India which are not tenanted by finch-larks.
A Bird Calendar for Northern India|Douglas Dewar

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

Derived forms of tenant

tenantable, 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

tenant

Origin of tenant

OTHER WORDS FROM tenant

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH tenant

Words related to tenant

How to use tenant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tenant

Derived forms of tenant

Word Origin for tenant