Standard Lemma guide

tenancy

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈtɛnənsi/
  • [ˈthɛnənsɪi̯]
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US, pin-pen-merger: /ˈtɪ̟nənsi/
  • US, pin-pen-merger: [ˈthɪ̟nənsɪi̯]
  • CMU ARPABET: T EH1 N AH0 N S IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Synonym of lease (an interest in land, its related contract or the document containing that contract); more commonly used when a lease is short-term or has a periodic rent that is not merely nominal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: lease

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

an act of being a tenant or occupant

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: occupancy

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: residency, residence, abidance

Narrower terms: inhabitancy, inhabitation, habitation

History

Etymology

From tenant + -cy.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: наемане (naemane) — occupancy of property, etc.
  • Czech: nájem — occupancy of property, etc.
  • Czech: pronájem — occupancy of property, etc.
  • Czech: držba — occupancy of property, etc.
  • Czech: držení — occupancy of property, etc.
  • Finnish: arenti — occupancy of property, etc.
  • Galician: arrendo — occupancy of property, etc.
  • Galician: arrendamento — occupancy of property, etc.
  • German: Mietverhältnis — occupancy of property, etc.
  • Greek: μίσθωση (místhosi) — occupancy of property, etc.
  • Greek: πάκτωση (páktosi) — occupancy of property, etc.
  • Irish: tionóntacht — occupancy of property, etc.
  • Polish: dzierżawa — occupancy of property, etc.
  • Polish: najem — occupancy of property, etc.
  • Spanish: arrendamiento — occupancy of property, etc.