Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A contract granting use or occupation of property during a specified period in exchange for a specified rent.
- n. The term or duration of such a contract.
- n. Property used or occupied under the terms of such a contract.
- v. To grant use or occupation of under the terms of a contract.
- v. To get or hold by such a contract.
- idiom. a new lease on life An opportunity to improve one's circumstances or outlook.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To gather; pick; pick up; pick out; select.
- Specifically To glean, as corn.
- To glean; gather up leavings, as at harvest.
- To grant the temporary possession of, as lands, tenements, or hereditaments, to another for compensation at a fixed rate; let; demise.
- To take a lease of, or to take, as lands, etc., by a lease: as, he leased the farm from the proprietor. Synonyms Let, Rent, etc. See
hire . - n. A contract transferring a right to the possession and enjoyment of real property for life or for a definite period of time or at will, usually made in consideration of a periodical compensation called rent, in modern times usually payable in money, but sometimes in a share of the produce, and in former times frequently in services. The grantor or landlord is called the lessor, the grantee the lessee. The act of the grantor is called a demise; the right of the grantee is called the term; his holding under it is called a tenancy. The right of the lessor to have possession again at the end of the term, or sooner in case of forfeiture, is called the reversion. If the grantor has only a term and grants the whole of it, the contract is not. technically a lease, but, even if in the form of a lease, is deemed only an assignment. If the grantor of a term retains any reversion, even for a single day, the contract is a lease. A contract not transferring a right of possession, but merely contemplating that such right shall be transferred in the future, is not a lease, but an agreement for a lease. A contract transferring such a right to commence in enjoyment at a future day—as, for instance, one executed in February to give possession in May—is a lease; but the right of the lessee for the intervening period before the term is an interesse termini. The word lease is sometimes loosely applied to a letting of personal property.
- n. The written instrument by which a leasehold estate is created. The word is also loosely applied to oral contracts of letting, which, however, are made void by the statute of frauds unless for a term not exceeding one year.
- n. The duration of tenure by lease; a term of leasing; hence, the terminable time or period of anything: as, to take property on a long lease; a short lease of life.
- False; lying; deceptive.
- n. Falsehood; a lie.
- n. A pasture.
- n. A common.
- n. In weaving, the system of crossings in the warp-threads in a loom between the yarn-beam and the heddles, effected by passing each warp-thread alternately over and under the lease-rods.
- n. In Australian mining, a mining leasehold; a piece of ground leased for the purpose of mining.
Wiktionary
- v. to gather.
- v. to pick, select,
pick out; to pick up. - v. to glean.
- v. to glean, gather up leavings.
- v. To operate or live in some property or land through purchasing a long-term contract (or leasehold) from the owner (or freeholder).
- v. To take or hold by lease.
- v. To grant a lease; to let or rent.
- adj. false; lying; deceptive
- n. falsehood; a lie
- n. an open pasture or common
- n. A contract granting use or occupation of property during a specified period in exchange for a specified rent
- n. The period of such a contract
- n. A leasehold
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To gather what harvesters have left behind; to glean.
- v. To grant to another by lease the possession of, as of lands, tenements, and hereditaments; to let; to demise; ; -- sometimes with out.
- v. To hold under a lease; to take lease of.
- n. The temporary transfer of a possession to another person in return for a fee or other valuable consideration paid for the transfer A demise or letting of lands, tenements, or hereditaments to another for life, for a term of years, or at will, or for any less interest than that which the lessor has in the property, usually for a specified rent or compensation.
- n. The contract for such letting.
- n. Any tenure by grant or permission; the time for which such a tenure holds good; allotted time.
WordNet 3.0
- v. hold under a lease or rental agreement; of goods and services
- v. grant use or occupation of under a term of contract
- n. a contract granting use or occupation of property during a specified time for a specified payment
- v. engage for service under a term of contract
- v. let for money
- n. property that is leased or rented out or let
- n. the period of time during which a contract conveying property to a person is in effect
Etymologies
- Middle English les, from Anglo-Norman, from lesser, to lease, variant of Old French laissier, to let go, from Latin laxāre, to loosen, from laxus, loose; see slēg- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“I have the honour to state that the term lease by negotiation contained in Article 2 of the Treaty respecting South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia signed this day shall be understood to imply a long-term lease of not more than thirty years and also the possibility of its unconditional renewal.”
“We are also looking at our financing leases and under our financing lease that would have some what the same effect where we would be able to record the revenue that we wouldn't be receiving the cash immediately, we would be paid over whatever the term lease may be.”
“And, of course, a tenant does not occupy the property merely until “the owner decides to revoke that use” unless his lease is at will (which is uncommon in this day and age).”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Do We Need to Subsidize Homeownership to Preserve Our National Identity?
“Buying into a lease is a gamble, most of the companies will already have a good idea if there is a chance of economically recoverable reserves there before they bid.”
“They're jacking up our rent yet again, and while our original lease price was a fair deal, our lease is about to expire ... and now they want to milk us for more dough.”
“If the lease is a simple contract, with a promise to pay rent exchanged for a promise to provide housing, then if the lessor "defaults" on the contract he must arrange for suitable housing.”
“Renovations are expected to begin as soon as the final version of the lease is approved by city and company officials.”
“I know the team is already beginning negotiations on a longer-term lease, which is something we need to get done.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘lease’.
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Courtroom Speak
Legal glossary with special focus on courtroom vocabulary
writ of execution, writ of certiorari, witness, waiver, warrant, voir dire, victim witness as..., writ, victim compensati..., verdict, venue, victim advocate and 792 more...
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On with their heads!
Words that make other words with the addition of one letter at the beginning. The resulting words are tagged "behead".
men, his, yes, any, iota, limb, aged, laid, land, lead, read, word and 315 more...
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Autantonyms
Words that are the opposites of themselves; each of the words in the list below has at least two definitions of which one is the complete contrary of the other.
fast, buckle, weather, out, weedy, overlook, cleave, let, clip, quite, sanction, bolt and 19 more...

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