What does "lease" mean?
An interest in land granting exclusive use or occupation of real estate for a limited period; a leasehold.
Lease
name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·1 syllable ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An interest in land granting exclusive use or occupation of real estate for a limited period; a leasehold.
- Grammar: lease is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: letting, tenancy, adverse possession, aircraft charter.
- Useful contrasts: buy, cessation, end.
- Usage evidence: Antibodies give a new lease of life.
How to use "lease"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "lease" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "lease" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "lease" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "lease" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "lease" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "letting" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "lease", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An interest in land granting exclusive use or occupation of real estate for a limited period; a leasehold. formal
- 2 An open pasture or common. dialectal
"Since as a child I used to lie Upon the leaze and watch the sky, Never, I own, expected I That life would all be fair."
- 3 The place at which the warp-threads cross on a loom. dialectal
- 4 a contract granting use or occupation of property during a specified time for a specified payment wordnet
- 5 An interest granting exclusive use of any thing, such as a car or boat.
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 property that is leased or rented out or let wordnet
- 7 The contract or deed under which such an interest is granted.
- 8 the period of time during which a contract conveying property to a person is in effect wordnet
- 9 The document containing such a contract or deed.
- 10 The period of such an interest.
"Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date:"
- 11 The temporary assignment of an IP address to a networked device.
Verb
- 1 To grant a lease as a landlord; to let. formal, transitive
- 2 To gather. dialectal, transitive
- 3 To tell lies; tell lies about; slander; calumniate. UK, ambitransitive, dialectal
- 4 To release; let go; unloose. UK, dialectal, transitive
- 5 engage for service under a term of contract wordnet
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 To hold a lease as a tenant; to rent. informal, transitive
"I'm leasing a small apartment in Runcorn for a month while I'm there for work."
- 7 To pick, select, pick out; to pick up. dialectal, transitive
- 8 grant use or occupation of under a term of contract wordnet
- 9 To assign a temporary IP address to (a networked device). transitive
- 10 To glean. dialectal, transitive
- 11 let for money wordnet
- 12 To accept such an assignment of (an IP address). transitive
- 13 To glean, gather up leavings. dialectal, intransitive
- 14 hold under a lease or rental agreement; of goods and services wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Antibodies give a new lease of life."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "lease"?
Common synonyms include: letting, tenancy, adverse possession, aircraft charter, alodium, apartment let.
How do you use "lease" in a sentence?
Antibodies give a new lease of life.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English *lesen, from Anglo-Norman *leser, Old French lesser, laisier (“to let, let go”), partly from Latin laxō (“to loose”) and partly from Old High German lāzan (“to let, let go, release”) (German lassen), cognate with Old English lǣtan (“to allow, let go, leave, rent”) whence let.
Etymology 2
From Middle English lesen, from Old English lesan (“to collect, pick, select, gather”), from Proto-West Germanic *lesan, from Proto-Germanic *lesaną (“to gather”).
Etymology 3
From Middle English lesen, from Old English lēasian (“to lie, tell lies”), from lēas (“falsehood, lying, untruth, mistake”).
Etymology 4
From Middle English lese, from Old English lǣs (“meadow”), from Proto-West Germanic *lāsu (“meadow”). See also leasow.
Etymology 5
From Middle English lesen, from Old English līesan (“to loosen, release, redeem, deliver, liberate”), from Proto-Germanic *lausijaną (“to release, loosen”).
Etymology 6
From leash.