landlord

noun

land·​lord ˈland-ˌlȯrd 

1

: the owner of property (such as land, houses, or apartments) that is leased or rented to another

2

: the master of an inn or lodging house : innkeeper

Synonyms of landlord

• proprietor
• lessor
• letter
• renter

Examples of landlord in a Sentence

agreed to pay the landlord the rent on the first Monday of each month

a weekend workshop that is intended to disabuse would-be landlords of a bed-and breakfast that the job is one long vacation

Recent Examples on the Web

Corporate landlords and investment firms own less than 5% of the nation’s 87 million homes, according to BatchData, though that fraction is growing and obscures bigger footholds in local markets. —Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 13 Jan. 2026

Funds stopped arriving; soon, organizations could no longer pay rent, and their offices were locked by landlords. —Majirata Latela, The Dial, 13 Jan. 2026

In that almost two-year period, large landlords acquired 178,000 single-family houses, and exited 184,000, for a net decline of 6,000. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 13 Jan. 2026

Green said the city is pushing the landlord to make repairs and get residents back home as soon as possible. —Nick Caloway, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing landlord

• absentee landlord

Rhymes for landlord

• abhorred
• aboard
• accord
• adored
• afford
• award
• baseboard
• billboard
• blackboard
• boxboard
• breadboard
• broadsword

Kids Definition

landlord

noun

land·​lord -ˌ(d)lȯ(ə)rd 

1

: the owner of land or houses that is rented to another

2

: a person who runs an inn or rooming house

Legal Definition

landlord

noun

land·​lord

: the owner of property (as houses, apartments, or land) that is leased or rented to another