let 1 of 2

1
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

let

2 of 2

noun

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
Never let your imaginary AI friend inadvertently rat you out when it’s only meant to juice your social-media engagement stats, friends! Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 2 May 2025 Konan’s lawyers say refusal-to-deliver cases are rare and letting her suit continue would not cripple the postal service. Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025 The lawsuit states that Liberty was negligent in failing to mark the gas line, and that after hitting the gas line, the other three companies were negligent in letting the gas leak continue unchecked. Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2025 Read Next National Dad let daughter and her friend ride ATV, cops say. Daniella Segura, Sacbee.com, 21 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for let
Recent Examples of Synonyms for let
Verb
  • The rules will also allow carmakers to report less severe crashes monthly, and add a property damage reporting threshold for less severe crashes involving self-driving vehicles.
    David Shepardson, USA Today, 26 Apr. 2025
  • When the season begins, Baku is out of school due to suspension, allowing the Union a chance to get their claws into the Eunjang student body.
    Kayti Burt, Time, 26 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Healy asked at the committee meeting whether the village had investigated renting screens when needed.
    Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 22 Apr. 2025
  • She and Chalamet got married in 1985 and rented an apartment in midtown.
    Bridget Read, Curbed, 21 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Implement Anonymous Surveys Move beyond annual engagement surveys and implement anonymous pulse surveys that enable real-time analysis.
    Kerri Sutey, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
  • On the farm, poor sanitation enabled cows and dairy workers to introduce tuberculosis, typhoid, and other pathogens into milk.
    Made by History, Time, 29 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Treat divergence not as something to tolerate but as a strategic asset.
    Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Some are bred to tolerate warmer or colder temperatures.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 25 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The Arches is designed for all-around off-roading, while the Cliffhanger is geared toward slow, technical obstacles.
    Jamie L. LaReau, USA Today, 24 Apr. 2025
  • However, the obstacle avoidance technology included in the X10 Pro Omni has a 3D MatrixEye.
    Terri Williams, Architectural Digest, 23 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Meanwhile, the Trump administration has pushed to expand offshore oil drilling and accelerate the permitting process, reducing timelines to just weeks.
    Dan Ruetenik, CBS News, 2 May 2025
  • For instance, one recent vulnerability discovered within twelve brands permitted employees and possibly hackers to understand exactly where a vehicle has been over the past year within the accuracy of a parking space.
    Steve Tengler, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Verb
  • Comprising nearly 463,000 acres of private and leased public land centered on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, the American Prairie reserve is decidedly un-tropical, a rolling shortgrass prairie that stretches out to the horizon, punctuated by smatterings of trees and rocky buttes.
    Adam Roy, Outside Online, 24 Apr. 2025
  • For example, trucking companies that lease trucks and require strict operational rules can still be held responsible in California courts.
    JC Serrano, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The Murrow perspective allows Clooney and Heslov to ignore the actual Communist contamination of both the media and the government.
    Armond White, National Review, 30 Apr. 2025
  • Soviet citizens in the 1980s could no longer ignore the glaring differences between the utopian promises of communism and the reality of an autocratic and incompetent regime.
    Margaret MacMillan, The Atlantic, 30 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Let.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/let. Accessed 8 May. 2025.

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