rent

1.nounB1

Definition

A regular payment you make to the owner of a building, room, vehicle, or piece of equipment so you can keep using it.

Example

Tanvi pays $1,200 in rent each month for her small studio near the university.

collocation: pay + rent

The landlord raised the rent by fifty dollars after the tenant asked for kitchen repairs.

collocation: raise + the rent

Common collocations

pay rent
collect rent
raise the rent
lower the rent
monthly rent
back rent
affordable rent
rent increase
rent payment

Synonyms

lease
A lease is both the legal contract itself and, less commonly, the payment under that contract; rent is the everyday term for the actual money.
hire
In British English, hire can mean the payment for short-term use of a vehicle or equipment (car hire, bike hire), but for housing, rent is the standard term.

Grammar Patterns

pay + rent

raise/lower + the rent

Usage Note

Rent is usually paid monthly, and the amount is agreed on in a written agreement called a lease or rental contract.

Common Mistakes

I need to pay the loan for my apartment.

I need to pay the rent for my apartment.

Loan refers to borrowed money from a bank; rent is what you pay to the owner for using a property.

2.nounB1

Definition

The state of a house, room, or other item being available from the owner for use in return for payment — found in the fixed phrases 'for rent' and 'to rent'.

Example

There is a 'For Rent' sign outside the empty shop on the street corner.

phrase: For Rent sign

The flat above the dentist's office is for rent at a very reasonable price.

structure: is + for rent

Common collocations

for rent
to rent
rooms to rent
houses for rent
for rent sign

Synonyms

to let
Standard British English alternative to for rent; used mainly for housing and commercial property.
available
A more general word that does not specify payment; for rent makes the payment condition clear.

Grammar Patterns

for rent

to rent

be + for rent

Usage Note

For rent is the common phrase in American English; in British English, the equivalent is to let (e.g., 'flat to let'). British English also uses to rent in the same way as American English.

Common Mistakes

This apartment is for renting.

This apartment is for rent.

For rent is a fixed phrase; do not add -ing.

3.nounC2

Definition

A large torn opening found on cloth, clothing, or other fabric — a word from older English (root: 'rend') that survives mainly in literary descriptions.

Example

Nkechi sewed up the rent in her son's trousers before he left for school.

A large rent in the old curtain let the morning sunlight pour into the room.

literary register: large rent in [fabric]

Synonyms

tear
The everyday word for a torn opening in fabric; rent is far less common.
rip
A long, irregular tear; more informal than tear, but still vastly more common than rent.
hole
A general word for an opening; does not imply that the opening was made by tearing.

Usage Note

This sense comes from the verb rend and is unrelated to the financial meaning of rent. It is very rare in everyday speech; most modern speakers use tear, rip, or hole instead.

Common Mistakes

There is a rent in my jeans from the nail.

There is a rip in my jeans from the nail.

For everyday clothing damage, use rip or tear; rent sounds old-fashioned.

Idioms

for rent

idiom

Something that is available for someone to use by paying money regularly.

The apartment on Elm Street is for rent this month.

Is that blue house still for rent?

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB1

Definition

To pay money in order to use a building, room, vehicle, or piece of equipment that belongs to someone else; or to receive money by allowing someone else to use your property, often with 'out' to make the landlord meaning clear.

Example

Diego rented a car at the airport to drive to his parents' house.

pattern: rent + object + from + person

Adina rents a small room from an elderly couple who live in the city centre.

Common collocations

rent a car
rent an apartment
rent a room
rent equipment
rent from
rent to
rent out

Synonyms

lease
Lease suggests a formal, long-term written contract for property; rent covers both long-term and short-term, and is more common in everyday use.
hire
In British English, hire is used for short-term rental of vehicles, tools, or equipment; rent is more common for housing and in American English generally.
let
British English equivalent of 'rent out' — the owner lets a property to a tenant (e.g., 'the flat is let for £800 a month').

Grammar Patterns

rent + object

rent + object + from + person

rent + object + out + to + person

Usage Note

When you are the person paying, the structure is 'rent something from someone.' When you are the person receiving money, add 'out' for clarity: 'rent something out to someone.' Without 'out,' the sentence can be ambiguous — 'they rent their house' could mean they pay to live there or they let others stay there.

Common Mistakes

I rented a room to a landlord.

I rented a room from a landlord.

From marks the owner you pay; to marks the person who pays you.

2.verbintransitiveB1

Definition

(Of a property or item) To be offered for use by someone in exchange for payment, usually at a particular price.

Example

The apartment rents for nine hundred dollars a month with all utilities included.

pattern: rent + for + price

This model of electric car rents for about sixty dollars per day at the airport.

Common collocations

rents for
rents at
rents out for

Synonyms

let for
In British English, 'let for' is the equivalent: 'the flat lets for £700 a month.'

Grammar Patterns

rent + for + amount

rent + at + amount

Usage Note

This is the intransitive use: the property or item is the subject, and the price follows 'for.' It is common in advertising and descriptions, e.g., 'the house rents for $2,000 a month.'

3.verbtransitiveC2

Definition

The form taken by the old verb 'rend' when telling about something that was torn apart violently in the past — now only seen in old or literary writing.

Example

In a poem, the grieving king rent his robe and wept for his dead son.

literary usage: rent + clothing as gesture of grief

The castle's great banner was rent by the fierce wind during the overnight storm.

Usage Note

This is a completely different word from the financial rent — it is simply the past form of the old verb 'rend' (to tear violently). You will only see it in classic literature, historical novels, or poetic writing. In modern English, 'tear' (past: tore) or 'rip' (past: ripped) are used instead.

Common Mistakes

She rent a dress for the party' (meaning she paid to use it).

She rented a dress for the party.

Never use rent (the past of rend) to mean 'paid to use'; the correct past tense of the financial verb is rented.

Phrasal verbs

rent out

phrasal verb

To allow someone to use your property, vehicle, or equipment for a period of time in exchange for money.

Vinícius decided to rent out his apartment while he travelled through Southeast Asia for six months.

The family rents out kayaks and paddle-boards to tourists who visit the lake during the summer.

Word family

renter
nounB1
rental
adjectiveB1
rental
nounB1
rentable
adjectiveB2
rent-free
adjectiveB2
rent-free
adverbB2
non-rental
adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Rent, lease, hire, and let all involve paying for the use of something, but they differ in scope and region. Rent is the most general word, covering everything from a house to a car to a piece of equipment: 'we rented a kayak for the afternoon.' Lease is more formal and typically implies a long-term written contract for property: 'the company leased office space for five years.' Hire is common in British English for short-term use of vehicles, tools, or people: 'she hired a van for moving day'; in American English, rent is preferred for objects. Let is almost exclusively British and means the owner offers a property: 'the flat is let at £900 a month.' When you are the person using the property, both rent (AmE) and hire (BrE) work for vehicles; for housing, rent is universal.

rent ↗lease ↗hire ↗let ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

for rent
to rent
rent out
rent control
rent increase
rent strike

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglishOld English

The financial meaning of rent comes from Old French 'rente' (income, payment), which traces back through Vulgar Latin 'rendere' (to give back) to Latin 'reddere' (to give back, restore). The word entered English in the 1100s with the Norman conquerors. Meanwhile, the 'tearing' meaning comes from a different source — Old English 'rendan' (to tear apart), related to Old Frisian 'renda.' Its past tense 'rent' happened to be spelled the same as the financial term, creating a pair of homographs that have no historical connection to each other.

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rent

rent — noun

1. A regular payment you make to the owner of a building, room, vehicle, or piece o

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

2. The state of a house, room, or other item being available from the owner for use

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

3. A large torn opening found on cloth, clothing, or other fabric — a word from old

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

for rent

rent — verb

1. To pay money in order to use a building, room, vehicle, or piece of equipment th

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

2. (Of a property or item) To be offered for use by someone in exchange for payment

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

3. The form taken by the old verb 'rend' when telling about something that was torn

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

rent out

Word family

Synonym discussion

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

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