freehold

C2 Topic:Law & Government

US /ˈfriːˌhoʊld/ UK /ˈfriːhəʊld/ See IPA manual

Freq #81242

Meanings

1

noun
ownership of land or a building for an indefinite period, rather than for a fixed lease term

They bought the freehold so they would own both the apartment and a share of the land.
2

noun
land or property held under freehold tenure

The cottage and its surrounding acre formed a single freehold.
3

adj
held as a freehold rather than under a lease

The auction included several freehold commercial properties.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · ownership of land or a... freehold tenureabsolute ownership

2 noun · land or property held under... estate property

3 adj · held as a freehold rather... owner-occupied

Opposites

leasehold tenancy

Word family

Forms freeholdersfreeholds

Derived forms freeholder

Related forms leasehold tenure estatefee simple

Etymology

From Middle English fre hold, a compound of free + hold. In feudal law it denoted tenure held by a free person under conditions distinguished from servile tenure; it later developed its modern property-law senses.

Topics

Law & Government

External links

# freehold

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈfriːˌhoʊld/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfriːhəʊld/
**Frequency rank:** 81242

## Meanings
1. ownership of land or a building for an indefinite period, rather than for a fixed lease term
2. land or property held under freehold tenure
3. held as a freehold rather than under a lease

## Examples
- They bought the freehold so they would own both the apartment and a share of the land.
- The cottage and its surrounding acre formed a single freehold.
- The auction included several freehold commercial properties.

## Synonyms
- freehold tenure
- absolute ownership
- estate

## Antonyms
- leasehold
- tenancy

## Derived Forms
- freeholder

## Related Forms
- leasehold
- tenure
- estate
- fee simple

## Etymology
From Middle English fre hold, a compound of free + hold. In feudal law it denoted tenure held by a free person under conditions distinguished from servile tenure; it later developed its modern property-law senses.

## Topics
- Law & Government

markdown