let

n. countable

A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈɫɛt// UK //lˈɛt// let

Archaic General-service

n. the act of renting out a house or room for a short time. You might see this word on signs when a landlord is looking for a new tenant.

n. the act of leasing or renting out a property for a specified period. Common in British English to describe residential rental agreements.

SIMPLE

The house is available for a long-term let.

CONTEXTUAL

After the previous tenants moved out, the landlord put the apartment up for a short-term let during the summer.

COMPLEX

The agency specialises in corporate lets, providing fully furnished apartments for executives who are staying in the city for several months at a time.

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Antonyms

Etymology 1

Derived from Middle English leten, læten, from Old English lǣtan (“to allow, let go, bequeath, leave, rent”), from Proto-West Germanic lātan, from Proto-Germanic lētaną (“to leave behind, allow”), from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁d- (“to be tired, leave”). Cognates Cognate with Scots lat, lete (“to let, leave”), Yola leth (“let”), North Frisian leet, let, lätje (“to let”), Bavarian låssn (“to let”), Dutch, Low German laten (“to let, leave”), German lassen, laßen (“to let, leave, allow”), Luxembourgish loossen (“to let, leave”), Yiddish לאָזן (lozn, “to let”), Danish lade (“to let, allow, leave”), Faroese, Icelandic láta (“to let”), Norwegian Bokmål la (“to let, leave”), Norwegian Nynorsk la, lata, late (“let, allow”), Swedish låta (“to let, allow, leave”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐍄𐌰𐌽 (lētan, “to let”), Albanian lë (“to allow, let, leave”) and partially related to French laisser (“to let”).

Etymology 2

Derived from Middle English letten (“to hinder, delay”), from Old English lettan (“to hinder, delay”; literally, “to make late”), from Proto-West Germanic lattjan, from Proto-Germanic latjaną. Akin to Old English latian (“to delay”), Dutch letten, Old English læt (“late”). More at late, delay.

Usage

Commonly used in British English; in American English, 'rental' is the standard equivalent.

Idioms39 entries