Lease Meaning
/liːs/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn interest in land granting exclusive use or occupation of real estate for a limited period; a leasehold.
nounAn interest granting exclusive use of any thing, such as a car or boat.
Sentence Examples
Antibodies give a new lease of life.
Didn't you sign a lease?
Is there a clause in the lease regarding that?
CEFR Practice Quiz
They signed a new two-year ____ for the apartment near the university.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
They decided to sign a two-year ____ for the new office space in the center of the city earlier today.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:"
— 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 18”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC:
"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."
— 1928, Thomas Hardy, He Never Expected Much:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
They signed a new two-year ____ for the apartment near the university.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
They decided to sign a two-year ____ for the new office space in the center of the city earlier today.