From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishleaselease1 /liːs/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 SCLBORROWa legal agreement which allows you to use a building, car etc for a period of time, in return for rentlease on They took out a lease on a seven-acre field. The landlord refused to renew his lease. The 99-year lease expired in 1999. Do you understand all the terms of the lease?2 → a new lease of lifeCOLLOCATIONSverbshave/hold a leaseWho has the lease on the flat?take (out) a lease (=start having a lease)He took a seven-year lease on the place.renew a lease (=keep a lease for a longer period of time)The company decided not to renew the lease on the office.grant somebody a lease (=let someone have a lease)The landlord may grant a lease for a short or long period.sign a lease (=agree to the legal details of a lease by signing it)He refused to sign the new lease because the rent was too high.a lease runs (=continues for a period of time)The lease will run for 21 years.a lease runs out (also a lease expires formal) (=it stops)Their lease runs out in June.adjectivesa short/short-term leaseThese flats are let on short leases to students.a long/long-term leaseWe’re negotiating a long-term lease on the building.a 20/30/40 etc year leaseThe company has acquired the building on a 30-year lease.the current/existing leaseThe current lease still has 12 years to run.lease + NOUNa lease agreementThe organization has signed a lease agreement on a 50-acre site. a lease paymentHe is struggling to afford the lease payments on the office. phrasesthe terms of a lease (=the legal details of it)Under the terms of the lease, the tenants have to pay for any repairs.
Examples from the Corpus
lease• The tenant holds under an agreement for a lease.• Tissington however, did not hold on to his lease for very long.• a six-month lease on an apartment• For example some leases require the expert to receive submissions or evidence from the parties.• That flexibility might involve the offer of a short-term agreement or a long-term lease with an appropriate break clause.• Secondly, the purchaser will require the surveyor to assess potential liabilities under repairing obligations in the lease and in particular for dilapidations.• Yaki, who was instrumental in negotiating the leases as an aide to Rep.renew ... lease• He wanted a guarantee that he could renew the lease on expiry.• A typical instance where a solicitor is needed is renewing the lease at the end of the tenancy.• The landlord had not renewed Elgaen's lease, and he couldn't find a favorable north-end location in time.leaselease2 ●○○ verb [transitive] 1 BORROWLENDto use a building, car etc under a lease I’m interested in leasing your cottage.lease something from somebody They lease the site from the council.2 (also lease out) to let someone use a building, car etc under a leaselease something to somebody The building was leased to a health club.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
lease• Lansing and Friedkin were leasing a four-bedroom, 6,000-square-foot house in the Beverly Hills area, sources say.• We lease all our computers.• The building is actually owned by the government -- we're leasing it from them.• The company plans to sell or lease its remaining stores to other supermarkets.• Councils and housing associations will be allowed to lease or buy empty homes in order to provide accommodation for homeless people.• He turned the beef holding into a dairy farm and soon began expanding by leasing other dairy farms all over Ireland.• It would work out cheaper overall to lease the computers for the project.• A further source of income could be obtained from leasing the considerable shooting and fishing rights that belonged to the farm.• The Cider Press Company leases the machinery and buildings for $1000 a month.• Internet start-ups are being helped by companies willing to lease them Web servers and space.• The aircraft had been leased to a Nigerian airline.lease something to somebody• They decided to lease the building to another company.From Longman Business Dictionaryleaselease1 /liːs/ verb [transitive]COMMERCE1if you lease something to someone, you give them the right to use it for a particular period of time in return for paymentlease somebody somethingThe local authority leased him the property.lease something to somebodyAT&T leased the building to Sony and said it would find cheaper space elsewhere.lease something out (to somebody)We lease the land out to the forestry people.2if you lease something from someone, you pay them to let you use it for a particular period of timelease something from somebodyAll its scientific equipment is leased from another company. → see also sublease, sublet→ See Verb tableleaselease2 noun [countable]LAW a legal contract that allows a person or organization to make payments to use something for a particular period of timeThe initialterm of the lease (=the time that it lasts) is 10 years, with three additional 10-year renewal options.The company leases cars to corporate fleets and then sells them when the leases expire (=end). → aircraft lease → building lease → car lease → derivative lease → dry lease → equipment lease → finance lease → operating lease → repairing lease → store lease → wet leaseOrigin lease2 (1300-1400) Anglo-French lesser, from Old French laissier “to let go”, from Latin laxare; → LAXATIVE 