tenant

1 of 2

noun

ten·​ant ˈte-nənt How to pronounce tenant (audio)
Synonyms of tenantnext
1
a
: one who has the occupation or temporary possession of lands or tenements of another
specifically : one who rents or leases a dwelling (such as a house) from a landlord
b
: one who holds or possesses real estate or sometimes personal property (such as a security) by any kind of right
2
: occupant, dweller
tenantless
ˈte-nənt-ləs How to pronounce tenant (audio)
adjective

tenant

2 of 2

verb

tenanted; tenanting; tenants

transitive verb

: to hold or occupy as or as if as a tenant : inhabit
tenantable
ˈte-nən-tə-bəl How to pronounce tenant (audio)
adjective

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Tenets vs. Tenants

Thanks to its confusingly similar pronunciation, tenant (“occupant, land-holder”) is sometimes erroneously used in place of tenet (“principle, doctrine”). Consider this example:

One of the ancient tenants of the Buddist [sic] belief is, “He who sits still, wins” –Police, January/February 1968

You will probably never make the opposite mistake (that is, substitute tenet for tenant), but if you think you might, remember that tenant and occupant both end in -ant.

Synonyms

Noun

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of tenant in a Sentence

Noun A tenant is now leasing the apartment. the laundry in the basement is for tenants only
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.
Noun
The filing also addresses liquidity, noting that future capital needs include maintaining existing properties, funding tenant improvements, and paying dividends, with potential sources including cash flows from operations and refinancing of existing mortgages. —Quartz Bot, Quartz, 19 Nov. 2024 Many of the violations noted that the property owner failed to meet the state's requirements to meet basic occupancy standards, by failing to address severe plumbing issues, which led to flooding of tenant apartments and common areas with raw sewage. —Jordan Smith, The Indianapolis Star, 15 Nov. 2024
Verb
Malkin considers The Bicester Collection a platform for full-price customer acquisition, even though it’s tenanted by outlets. —David Moin, WWD, 16 Oct. 2024 The spike mirrors a wider uptick in rental property sales across the U.K., where 18% of all nationwide listings were previously tenanted, according to Rightmove. —Karen Gilchrist, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for tenant 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English tenaunt, tenant, borrowed from Anglo-French, "holder (of land under various circumstances)," noun derivative from present participle of tenir "to hold, have possession of," going back (with conjugation change) to Latin tenēre "to hold, occupy, possess," probably derivative, with the stative suffix *-h1i̯é- (with zero-grade ablaut) of the Indo-European verbal base *ten- "stretch, extend," whence, from a present-tense derivative *tn̥-neu̯/nu-, Sanskrit tanóti "(it) extends, spreads, endures," Greek tánytai "(s/he) stretches, extends, bends (a bow)," Welsh tannu, tanu "to spread, extend"; from a causative derivative *ton-éi̯e-, Sanskrit -tānayati "(it) extends," Germanic *þanjan- "to stretch" (whence Old English þennan "to stretch," Old Saxon thennian, Old High German dennen, Old Norse þenja, Gothic ufþanjan "to overextend"); from a present-tense derivative *ten-i̯e-, Greek teínein "to stretch, extend, spread, aim at," with verbal adjective tatós, action noun tásis, both from zero-grade *tn̥-t-

Note: This explanation of Latin tenēre is conventional, though the shift of sense (from "stretch, extend" to "extend the arm" to "grasp, hold"?) is not paralleled in other languages. Latin has no outcome of the Indo-European verb-stem formatives based on *ten- attested in other families (shown in the etymology above), having replaced *ten- in transitive/telic functions with the base *tend- (see tender entry 3). Derivatives with the stative suffix *-h1i̯é- regularly take zero-grade ablaut, which may be reflected in tenēre, though it could equally reflect full-grade *ten-. It is claimed that Umbrian tenitu (3rd singular imperative), apparently a counterpart within Italic to Latin tenēre, must reflect *ten- (apparently on the assumption that zero grade would result in *tan-; see Michiel de Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, Leiden, 2008).

Verb

derivative of tenant entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Verb

1634, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tenant was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing tenant

Dictionary Entries Near tenant

tenancy from year to year

tenant

tenant at sufferance

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Tenant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenant. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

tenant

1 of 2 noun
ten·​ant ˈten-ənt How to pronounce tenant (audio)
1
: one who occupies property of another especially for rent
2
: occupant

tenant

2 of 2 verb
: to hold or occupy as a tenant : inhabit

Legal Definition

tenant

noun
ten·​ant ˈte-nənt How to pronounce tenant (audio)
: one who holds or possesses property by any kind of right : one who holds a tenancy in property
specifically : one who possesses property in exchange for payment of rent see also lessee compare tenancy
Etymology

Noun

Anglo-French, from Old French, from present participle of tenir to hold, from Latin tenēre

More from Merriam-Webster on tenant

Nglish: Translation of tenant for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of tenant for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tenant

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