sublet
Americanverb (used with object)
-
sublets,
present (3rd person singular)
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sublet,
past participle, past
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subletting
present participle
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to sublease.
-
to let under a subcontract.
to sublet work.
noun
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sublets
plural
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a sublease.
-
a property obtained by subleasing, as an apartment.
verb
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to grant a sublease of (property)
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to let out (work, etc) under a subcontract
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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subletsimple
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subletssimple
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have subletperfect
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has subletperfect
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am sublettingprogressive
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are sublettingprogressive
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is sublettingprogressive
-
have been sublettingperfect progressive
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has been sublettingperfect progressive
Past
-
subletsimple
-
had subletperfect
-
was sublettingprogressive
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were sublettingprogressive
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had been sublettingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sublet
Explanation
When you rent an apartment by taking over another person's lease, instead of renting directly from a landlord, you sublet. You can also say the person sublets the apartment to you. As a noun, sublet refers both to the lease agreement and to the property itself: "I'm living in a tiny sublet right next to the train tracks." The formal, legal word for this is sublease, but it's more common for renters to use the informal sublet instead. Being able to sublet to another person makes it possible for a renter to leave an apartment without breaking their lease.
Vocabulary lists containing sublet
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Mastrangelo ultimately found a sublet: She will be spending $2,520 for a bedroom and private bath in a woman’s house in the tony neighborhood of Russian Hill.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
It is suspected nearly 6,000 social homes in England are illegally sublet on short-term rental platforms, according to the Tenancy Fraud Forum, a not-for profit organisation.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
A friend will sublet my apartment starting in October.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026
It was nothing like the aging, rent-controlled apartment she once sublet in Venice, where she often had to cook using a toaster oven.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2024
"Her parents are in London for one year due to my daughter's stage career, and they've sublet their Manhattan apartment. So Anu will be coming to stay with me."
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
Listings Projects, a classified newsletter featuring sublets in New York City, Los Angeles and others creative hubs , is one of the systems that seems poised to grow.
From Slate ● Sep. 13, 2023
She was inspired by Sam Farrazaino who established Equinox Studios, converting a 30,000-square-foot former factory to sublets for working artisans in Seattle’s Georgetown in 2006.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2022
She sublets the apartment, and, as is the way of folks with less money, maybe especially queer friends, ends up living there with two other people.
From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2022
It then leases or sublets properties to franchisees.
From Reuters ● May 2, 2017
If he sublets, I shan't have the same control.
From Howards End by E. M. (Edward Morgan) Forster
On Thursday, Hong Kong's Court of Appeal quashed the convictions of Lai and another defendant who had been accused of illegally subletting office space.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026
I’m subletting my apartment in Boulder, Colo., for one year while I’m living in San Diego.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 11, 2025
This can protect you whether you’re a homeowner renting out a spare room or a renter subletting from someone else.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2025
“We were just subletting our apartment,” said Ewald, explaining that she expected to return to New York after the Empty Space gig.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 5, 2024
He was living in Hyde Park, subletting an apartment from a friend.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
