tenant farmer

noun

: a farmer who works land owned by another and pays rent either in cash or in shares of produce

Examples of tenant farmer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Carter worked the land throughout the Great Depression, but it was owned by the elder Carter, who employed the surrounding Black tenant farmers in the era of Jim Crow segregation. Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2025 The Carters were the only white family in Archery, and his playmates were the children of Black tenant farmers. Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker, 29 Dec. 2024 As a result, tenant farmers typically have only an informal agreement with the landowner and no legal status. Tim Hanstad, Foreign Affairs, 29 Apr. 2016 Who is more delusional than Elizabeth Bennet, who uses love to justify an economic system that treats her physical body as a means of production and will also entitle her to enjoy, without lifting a finger, the rent that Darcy charges his tenant farmers? Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 20 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for tenant farmer 

Word History

First Known Use

1748, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tenant farmer was in 1748

Dictionary Entries Near tenant farmer

Cite this Entry

“Tenant farmer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenant%20farmer. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

tenant farmer

noun
: a farmer who works land owned by another and pays rent either in cash or in shares of produce

More from Merriam-Webster on tenant farmer

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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