noun / verb

rent

RENT/rent/

Payment for temporary use of property, or providing or obtaining that use.

The tenant pays rent to continue using the apartment.

Tenant gives a plain payment envelope to landlord in exchange for continued apartment use, keys and rental doorway visible, no written amount.

Etymology

Rente meant payment due or income, and English rent also once meant income generally. The property sense focuses this broader idea on regular compensation for possessing and using another person's property.

In context

Old Time Radio Researchers19:19

the tenant must pay his rent in all events I say that again

Case Dismissed - Landlord and Tenant

More examples

She rented a car for the weekend.
They have rented the house to a new family.
Rents rose in several neighborhoods.

Forms

rent · rents · rented · renting

rental noun — An arrangement for temporary paid use.

Similar words

lease: Usually a formal agreement for use over a fixed period.
hire: Often refers to temporary use or employment, with regional differences.