noun
tenant
TEH-nuhnt
noun
1
Someone who pays rent to live in or use a property owned by someone else.
"The landlord raised the rent, and the tenant threatened to move out."
"Each tenant in the building shares the cost of maintaining the lobby."
verb
1
To occupy a property as a tenant.
"The flat above has been tenanted by the same family for a decade."
How to Use Tenant
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA person who rents a place to live or work from a landlord.
Common mistake
Don't confuse with "tenet" (a core belief or principle) — they sound similar but are unrelated.
Easily confused with
tenet
Common pairings
a tenant's rights
evict a tenant
landlord and tenant
Word Forms
tenanted past tense, tenants plural, Tenants plural, tenants singular
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “tenant”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
The landlord raised the rent, and the _____ threatened to move out.
Etymology
From Old French tenant, present participle of tenir ("to hold"), from Latin tenere ("to hold, keep").