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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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
In his first season as Sky coach, Tyler Marsh has preached about not letting one side of the floor impact the other. —Ben Pickman, New York Times, 8 June 2025 Strawberry shortcake is, obvi, the classic, but don’t let your imagination stop there. —Carolynn Carreño, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2025 Don’t let Social Security and IRS data go to Palantir and rescind the Pentagon and Homeland Security contracts. —Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2025 Large windows throughout let in plenty of sunlight. —Angel Saunders, People.com, 28 May 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
  • This allows the charging rate to be uprated to 15W, as well as quick and secure attachments.
    — Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
  • The Workforce Development Partnership will allow ED and DOL to better coordinate and deliver on workforce development programs and strengthen federal support for our nation's workforce, a top priority of the Trump Administration.
    — Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025
Definition of allow
Verb
  • The group who rents out the synagogue decided that women are allowed to pants, though Barbara notes that she’s never seen the pastor’s wife in anything but skirts or dresses.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 June 2025
  • That’s because nobody appears to be renting in the Hamptons this summer.
    — Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2025
Definition of rent
Verb
  • Congress generally has 45 days to review and approve the request, but Vought is arguing that the end of the fiscal year would enable the administration to bypass a vote.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 June 2025
  • To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video WATCH Deep Fakes - Incognito Mode Email More... VIDEO URL https://www.wired.com/video/watch/deep-fakes-incognito-mode The live event has ended.
    — Jules Roscoe, Wired News, 4 June 2025
Definition of enable
Verb
  • Lynch opened up a whole new space where ambiguity wasn’t just tolerated — it was embraced.
    — Ben Croll, Variety, 12 June 2025
  • The mayor did warn that vandalism wouldn't be tolerated.
    — NBC News, NBC news, 12 June 2025
Definition of tolerate
Noun
  • Existing Challenges While the impact of these types of fintechs is already significant, their work is not without its own set of obstacles, and several ongoing challenges remain.
    — Murtaza Ali, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
  • Raise the stakes, place insuperable obstacles before the protagonist, have the protagonist somehow surmount them while becoming braver and better.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Definition of obstacle
Verb
  • His administration has accused the schools of allowing antisemitism and facilitating the spread of pro-Hamas propaganda by permitting the campus protests, which free-speech advocates say are protected by the First Amendment.
    — Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
  • Teams are permitted to have up to 35 players in their squad at the start of the tournament (and must have a minimum of 26).
    — Will Jeanes, New York Times, 6 June 2025
Definition of permit
Verb
  • There is a funny trend within the trend, though: As Crain’s found, and a quick search of our own confirms, a bunch of these clinics have leased office space along a commercial strip on or just off Madison Avenue, forming a trippy little corridor around Grand Central.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 2 June 2025
  • OpenAI leases about 1 million square feet of space across five different locations in the city and employs roughly 2,000 people in San Francisco.
    — Wendy Lee, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2025
Definition of lease
Verb
  • What can also be said with certainty, however, is that — even ignoring, for one moment, the events that brought him to Chelmsford crown court in Essex, east of London — this is a story of what might have been.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 6 June 2025
  • The economics are simply too compelling for businesses to ignore: A single AI system can process the workload of dozens of employees at a fraction of the usual labor cost.
    — Adam Bowen, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
Definition of ignore

Phrases Containing let

Browse Nearby Words

lessors
let
let alone
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Let.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/let. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on let

Nglish: Translation of let for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about let

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

8 Words for the Wordy and Talking Too Much

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

10 Hella Good U.S. Regionalisms

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

8 Words for the Wordy and Talking Too Much

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All