rent

1 of 4

noun (1)

1
: property (such as a house) rented or for rent
2
a
: 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
b
: the amount paid by a hirer of personal property to the owner for the use thereof
3
a
: 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 4

verb

rented; renting; rents

transitive verb

1
: to grant the possession and enjoyment of in exchange for rent
2
: to take and hold under an agreement to pay rent

intransitive verb

1
: to be for rent
2
a
: to obtain the possession and use of a place or article in exchange for rent
b
: to allow the possession and use of property in exchange for rent
rentability noun
rentable adjective

rent

3 of 4

past tense and past participle of rend

rent

4 of 4

noun

1
: an opening made by or as if by rending
2
: a split in a party or organized group : schism
3
: 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
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 The disparity between renting and buying is especially stark in markets such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver and Nashville, Tennessee, according to the analysis. Elizabeth Schulze, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2024 Pantone 294 started in 2009 when Soto rented a bus and hauled 56 people to a San Francisco Giants game. Mark E. Potts, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 Moore rents in the neighborhood and had seen many friends and neighbors priced out of the area, and feared that a huge new complex would make the problem worse. E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2024 Details: 3½ stars; available to rent March 22 on Amazon and Apple TV+. Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024 Consider renting a car While the downtown area is very walkable, San Diego is a sprawling and spread-out city where many residents rely on cars. Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 19 Mar. 2024 The card features six categories: grade, gender, age, and reasons for attending (including actors and subject), plus two questions about buying or renting the movie in the future. Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024 Madbouly announced that each family affected by the fire in nearby buildings would receive 15,000 Egyptian pounds (about $300) to help rent apartments until their own are repaired, the State Information Service said on Saturday. Heather Chen, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024
Noun
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 While prices of goods like furniture and appliances have come down, services like rent and transportation keep climbing in cost. Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2024 Many shared stories of their own struggles to find housing, experiencing rising rents and suboptimal living conditions. Stacy Ryburn, arkansasonline.com, 20 Mar. 2024 In areas of the country where there has been robust homebuilding, rents and home price increases have been more moderate. Anna Bahney, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024 Tenants receive rent reductions and can pay their monthly rent to the city, which holds the money in escrow until the landlord makes repairs. Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024 The shop opened up in early December of 2021, and recent notices from the landlord to pay rent indicate that as of March 4, over $38,507 was owed by the business. Dennis Lee / The Takeout, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024 Californians are burdened with some of the highest water rates in the country, and families at times must make difficult decisions about whether to pay the water bill, electricity or rent. Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 12 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

Dictionary Entries Near rent

Cite this Entry

“Rent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rent. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

rent

1 of 4 noun
: 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
1
: to take and hold property under an agreement to pay rent
2
: to give the possession and use of in return for rent
rented a cottage to friends
3
: to be for rent
the room rents for $40 a week
rentable adjective

rent

3 of 4

past and past participle of rend

rent

4 of 4 noun
1
: an opening (as in cloth) made by or as if by tearing
2
: 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
1
a
: 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
b
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
c
: the amount paid by a hirer of personal property to the owner for the use thereof
d
: a royalty under a mineral lease
2
: 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
1
: to grant the possession and enjoyment of in exchange for rent
2
: to take and hold under an agreement to pay rent

intransitive verb

1
: to be for rent
2
a
: to obtain use and possession of a place or property in exchange for rent
b
: to allow the possession and use of property in exchange for rent
renter noun
also rentor
ˈren-tər

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