rent

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈrent 

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

b

: economic rent

see also:

for rent

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

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

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

Synonyms of rent

Verb

• lease

Noun

• tear
• slit
• slash

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.

Noun

getting her skirt caught on a nail resulted in a four-inch rent that she couldn't possibly repair

peered through the rent in the old garden wall for a glimpse of her mysterious new neighbor

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In California, an incredibly tight housing market and high rents are fueling a new generation of real estate scams that take advantage of people desperate to find an affordable place to live. — Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2026

The rental market has also proven to be tough, with the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment going over $6,000 a month, according to a recent analysis. — Tim Fang, CBS News, 31 July 2026

Verb

After taking possession last October, the friends renovated the former office into their new business, creating the event space, a small prep kitchen for people renting the facility and a larger commercial kitchen in the back. — Janice Phelan, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2026

Its other rivals, Microsoft, Amazon and Google, have created an escape hatch for themselves, renting that infrastructure to outside customers through enormous cloud businesses. — Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 30 July 2026

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

1525, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing rent

• economic rent
• for rent
• ground rent
• low-rent
• rack-rent
• rent-a-car
• rent-a-cop
• rent control
• rent strike

Rhymes for rent

• bent
• blent
• cent
• ent
• fent
• lent
• meant
• pent
• rente
• scent
• sent
• spent

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

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

-ə-bəl 

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