rent

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈrent

Synonyms of rent next

: property (such as a house) rented or for rent

: a usually fixed periodical return made by a tenant or occupant of property to the owner for the possession and use thereof

especially : an agreed sum paid at fixed intervals by a tenant to the landlord

: the amount paid by a hirer of personal property to the owner for the use thereof

: the portion of the income of an economy (as of a nation) attributable to land as a factor of production in addition to capital and labor

: economic rent

rent

2 of 4

verb

rented; renting; rents

transitive verb

: to grant the possession and enjoyment of in exchange for rent

: to take and hold under an agreement to pay rent

intransitive verb

: to be for rent

: to obtain the possession and use of a place or article in exchange for rent

: to allow the possession and use of property in exchange for rent

rentability

ˌren-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē

noun

rentable

ˈren-tə-bəl

adjective

rent

3 of 4

past tense and past participle of rend

rent

4 of 4

noun

: an opening made by or as if by rending

: a split in a party or organized group : schism

: an act or instance of rending

Phrases

for rent

: available for use or service in return for payment

Choose the Right Synonym for rent

hire, let, lease, rent, charter mean to engage or grant for use at a price.

hire and let, strictly speaking, are complementary terms, hire implying the act of engaging or taking for use and let the granting of use.

we hired a car for the summer

decided to let the cottage to a young couple

lease strictly implies a letting under the terms of a contract but is often applied to hiring on a lease.

the diplomat leased an apartment for a year

rent stresses the payment of money for the full use of property and may imply either hiring or letting.

instead of buying a house, they decided to rent

will not rent to families with children

charter applies to the hiring or letting of a vehicle usually for exclusive use.

charter a bus to go to the game

Examples of rent in a Sentence

Verb We rented our friends' cottage for the month of August. Do you own or rent? We rented them the upstairs apartment in our house. The cottage rents for $400 a week.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Masters of the universe routinely buy or rent out entire islands and small luxury camps. —

Linda Laban, Robb Report, 4 Apr. 2024 Izzy's typically rents out about 20 portable toilets on a typical weekend day in April, Lewis said. —

Max Zahn, ABC News, 4 Apr. 2024 With soft white sand and calm azure water, beachgoers enjoy spending the entire day there, stopping at nearby snack stands or renting umbrellas for respite from the sun. —

Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024 The state is promising to cover the cost of moving and a deposit on a new place, said Terri Jent, who has rented one of the West 11th Street houses with her husband and mother for four years. —

The Enquirer, 3 Apr. 2024 Other Hankey Group companies include Midway Auto Group, which rents out exotic and other automobiles, and Knight Specialty Insurance Co., a Hankey insurer that underwrote Trump’s appeal bond. —

Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024 Browse your way through the shops of Mallory Square and Duval Street, and then rent a few bikes for a leisurely pedal through town. —

Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2024 Godzilla x Kong will be available to purchase and rent sooner on digital VOD sites like Amazon Prime Video and YouTube TV, usually around 45 days after its theatrical release. —

Monica Mercuri, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024 During the weekly events, which are geared toward families, attendees sprawl on blankets sipping wine and others rent VIP boxes while watching matches. —

Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024

Noun

Renovations at the 65,000 square-foot building are expected to cost $18 million and rent would be $1.9 million annually over the course of a 35-year lease, with two five-year renewal options. —

Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2024 The median gross rent is $2,762, according to the city. —

Stephanie Lam, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024 Effective rents are falling, too, by 0.04% in the first quarter. —

Byalena Botros, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024 Finding a place to operate — especially in the expensive real estate market of L.A. — always has been a challenge for charters, a factor that led advocates to push successfully for the legal right to claim public school space at an affordable rent. —

Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024 But then rents exploded during the Bloomberg years and aspiring artists got priced out of town, with many more abandoning the city during a long and devastating pandemic from which New York hasn’t yet fully recovered, either economically or psychologically. —

Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2024 Some also questioned his claims, predicting rents would increase regardless of the referendum. —

Quinn Clark, Journal Sentinel, 1 Apr. 2024 As of early March, the county was helping more than 700 formerly homeless veterans pay rent, according to McClain. —

Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Mar. 2024 That meant that 1,300 vouchers that could have gone to pay someone’s monthly rent weren’t being used. —

Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English rente, from Anglo-French, payment, income, from Vulgar Latin *rendita, from feminine of *renditus, past participle of *rendere to yield — more at render

Noun

English dialect rent to rend, from Middle English, alteration of renden — more at rend

First Known Use

Noun (1)

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of rent was in the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Rent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rent. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

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Kids Definition

rent

1 of 4 noun

ˈrent

: money paid for the use of property : a periodic payment made by a tenant to the owner for the use of the owner's property

rent

2 of 4 verb

: to take and hold property under an agreement to pay rent

: to give the possession and use of in return for rent

rented a cottage to friends

: to be for rent

the room rents for $40 a week

rentable

-ə-bəl

adjective

rent

3 of 4

past and past participle of rend

rent

4 of 4 noun

: an opening (as in cloth) made by or as if by tearing

: an act or instance of tearing

Etymology

Noun

Middle English rente "income from property," from early French rente "payment, income," derived from Latin rendere "to yield"

Noun

from a dialect word rent "to tear," from Middle English renten, an altered form of renden "to tear, rend"

Legal Definition

rent

1 of 2 noun

: a return made by a tenant or occupant of real property to the owner for possession and use thereof

especially : a sum of money agreed upon between a landlord and tenant for the use of real property

in the civil law of Louisiana : a contract by which one party conveys to another to hold as owner a tract of land or other immovable property in perpetuity in exchange for payment of an annual sum or quantity of fruits

: the amount paid by a hirer of personal property to the owner for the use thereof

: a royalty under a mineral lease

: the portion of the income of an economy (as of a nation) attributable to land as a factor of production in addition to capital and labor

rent

2 of 2 transitive verb

: to grant the possession and enjoyment of in exchange for rent

: to take and hold under an agreement to pay rent

intransitive verb

: to be for rent

: to obtain use and possession of a place or property in exchange for rent

: to allow the possession and use of property in exchange for rent

renter noun

also rentor

ˈren-tər

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rent

noun (1)

verb

noun

Synonyms

Examples of rent in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near rent

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Legal Definition