lodger

IPA/ˈlɒdʒə(r)/
IPA/ˈlɑːdʒər/

lodger — noun

  • lodgersingular
  • lodgersplural

1. someone who rents one room in the home where the owner lives, and may also eat m

1.nounB2
Definition

someone who rents one room in the home where the owner lives, and may also eat meals there

Example

Nadia's lodger leaves his bicycle by the kitchen door every night.

lodger living in the same home

The lodger paid extra to use the washing machine on weekends.

pay extra for household use

Common collocations
  • take in a lodger
  • quiet lodger
  • lodger in the spare room
  • feed a lodger
Synonyms
  • boarder

    often suggests that meals are part of the arrangement

  • roomer

    more common in American English and focuses on the rented room

  • tenant

    broader term that often refers to renting a whole flat or house

Grammar Patterns

a lodger in someone's house

take in a lodger

a lodger in the spare room

Usage Note

Usually used when the person rents a room in the same home as the owner. If someone rents a whole flat or house, tenant is more common.

Common Mistakes

Our tenant eats breakfast with us every morning.
Our lodger eats breakfast with us every morning.
a lodger usually rents a room in the owner's home, not a separate flat.
She is my roommate, and she pays me rent.
She is my lodger, and she pays me rent.
a roommate shares the home as an equal resident, while a lodger rents the room from you.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Lodger usually describes someone who rents a room in the same home as the owner. Boarder is close, but it more strongly suggests that meals are included. Roomer is similar in meaning, yet it sounds more American and often focuses only on the rented room. Tenant is the broad legal word for anyone paying rent, especially for a whole flat or house, so it is less specific than lodger. Roommate is different again: a roommate shares the living space as another resident, not as someone paying the owner for a room. If Mei rents out her spare bedroom and still lives there, lodger is the clearest choice.

boarderroomertenant ↗roommate ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • take in a lodger
  • have a lodger
  • live as a lodger

Prepositions

Etymology

Old FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

Lodger is built from lodge, a word that came into English through French and referred to staying somewhere temporarily. English added the ending -er to name the person who stays there, especially someone paying to live in another person's home.