let 1 of 2

verb

ˈlet How to pronounce let (audio)
Definition of letnext
1
as in to allow
to give permission to my parents would not let me drive until I had a job and could pay for my own gas

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to rent
chiefly British to give the possession and use of (something) in return for periodic payment the pensioner has begun letting rooms in her home to earn some extra money

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to enable
to make able or possible the low gravity on the moon lets you make enormous leaps and jumps

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to tolerate
to fail to prevent (some behavior on someone's part) especially from neglect or indifference they let their kids get away with murder

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

let

2 of 2

noun

as in obstacle
something that makes movement or progress difficult artists are allowed to sell their goods in the public square without let or hindrance

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word let different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of let are charter, hire, lease, and rent. While all these words 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

When is it sensible to use charter instead of let?

While the synonyms charter and let are close in meaning, charter applies to the hiring or letting of a vehicle usually for exclusive use.

charter a bus to go to the game

When could lease be used to replace let?

The words lease and let can be used in similar contexts, but 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

When might rent be a better fit than let?

Although the words rent and let have much in common, 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

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of let
Verb
The world of work is rapidly changing but pouring all resources into AI and letting humans go isn’t the answer. —Gary Drenik, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025 Field believes one of the key intersections between AI and design is that AI tools will help broaden access, letting more people become designers. —Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 4 Sep. 2025 Shu lets those home scenes play out in their painful entirety, seemingly uncut in spots. —Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025 Fandango will parnter with TikTok on a new venture that will let users purchase movie tickets directly in-app. —Matt Donnelly, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for let
Recent Examples of Synonyms for let
  1. allow
  2. rent
  3. enable
  4. tolerate
  5. obstacle
  6. permit
  7. lease
  8. ignore
Verb
  • Somehow, the Hollywood star was still welcomed into the cockpit by the starstruck flight crew and allowed to briefly take control of the airliner.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The latest commitment will allow Startup Junkie to continue the program for three years and expand the team's capacity to serve clients and prospective borrowers with more resources, hands-on support and events.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2025
Definition of allow
Verb
  • Infrastructure must adapt to the pace of markets, users and workloads—subscribing to capabilities, renting intelligence and viewing the internet as an orchestration layer rather than a possession.
    — Vincentas Grinius, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
  • More daring vacationers can rent kayaks or hop on a whale-watching excursion, Sunset said.
    — Hannah Poukish, Sacbee.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Definition of rent
Verb
  • This approach has enabled Apex to scale quickly while maintaining the stability and resources associated with a corporate partnership.
    — William Jones, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Families in more than a dozen states now enjoy universal-eligibility school choice, enabling them to access a portion of education funding to use toward their preferred educational setting.
    — Kerry McDonald, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Definition of enable
Verb
  • The reward for tolerating winter is spring.
    — Chris McKeown, Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Any violence committed or even threatened against Raglan James will not be tolerated on this website.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Definition of tolerate
Noun
  • The difficulty in getting rid of players other than those whose contracts expired this summer (Luka Modric, Lucas Vazquez and Jesus Vallejo) was a significant obstacle.
    — James McNicholas, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
  • To overcome this obstacle, the MIT team employed lithium-6 atoms, a rare isotope whose resonance frequency shifts depending on temperature.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 8 Sep. 2025
Definition of obstacle
Verb
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems with thermal imaging and infrared capability are in use and night-capable aircraft are available to support crews overnight if needed and as conditions permit.
    — CA WILDFIRE BOT, Sacbee.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • But permitting delays and local resistance remain obstacles.
    — Robert Rapier, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
Definition of permit
Verb
  • Under the program qualifying lessees who place an order for a Gravity by September 30 and lease between October 1 and December 31 will be eligible to receive a $7,500 Lucid Advantage Credit.
    — Ed Garsten, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Many opt to lease EVs to save money A loophole in the tax credit, which was part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, gave dealers a unique ability to promote highly attractive leases for new EVs and plug-in hybrids.
    — Susan Tompor, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
Definition of lease
Verb
  • That many in the media have ignored the unit’s rise is an indictment.
    — Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Amid all its glorious and aesthetic architecture lies the massive environmental impact that cannot be ignored.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2025
Definition of ignore

Phrases Containing let

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lessors
let
let alone
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Cite this Entry

“Let.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/let. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.

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More from Merriam-Webster on let

Nglish: Translation of let for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about let

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