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
rented; renting; rents
1
: to grant the possession and enjoyment of in exchange for rent
2
: to take and hold under an agreement to pay rent
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
rent
3 of 4past tense and past participle of rend
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
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
PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
Key to the trend's success was a glut of shared bikes, which can be rented for as little as $1.95 a month.
—Peter Guo, NBC News, 11 Nov. 2024
Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2024
City leaders, have rebutted the argument, stating that the bond won’t increase rent or the properties’ market value.
—Stephanie Lam, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rent 
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Verb
Photoshop started the digital image manipulation revolution more than 30 years ago, and Adobe's groundbreaking application continues to be the best photo editing software money can buy (or rent, to be more precise).
—PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
Key to the trend's success was a glut of shared bikes, which can be rented for as little as $1.95 a month.
—Peter Guo, NBC News, 11 Nov. 2024
Noun
Build housing, which would increase supply and therefore lower rents and real-estate prices.
—Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2024
City leaders, have rebutted the argument, stating that the bond won’t increase rent or the properties’ market value.
—Stephanie Lam, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rent
Dictionary Entries Near rent
Cite this Entry
“Rent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rent. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rent
1 of 4 noun
: 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 verb1
: 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
rent
3 of 4past and past participle of rend
rent
4 of 4 noun1
: 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"
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