tenure

American  

[ten-yer] / ˈtɛn yər /

noun

1. the holding or possessing of anything.

   the tenure of an office.

2. the holding of property, especially real property, of a superior in return for services to be rendered.

3. the period or term of holding something.

4. status granted to an employee, usually after a probationary period, indicating that the position or employment is permanent.

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verb (used with object)

1. to give tenure to.

   After she served three years on probation, the committee tenured her.

tenure British  

/ ˈtɛnjə, ˈtɛnjʊə /

noun

1. the possession or holding of an office or position

2. the length of time an office, position, etc, lasts; term

3. the improved security status of a person after having been in the employ of the same company or institution for a specified period

4. the right to permanent employment until retirement, esp for teachers, lecturers, etc

5. property law

   1. the holding or occupying of property, esp realty, in return for services rendered, etc

   2. the duration of such holding or occupation

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Other Word Forms

• nontenurial
  adjective
• nontenurially
  adverb
• tenurial
  adjective
• tenurially
  adverb
• undertenure
  noun

Etymology

Origin of tenure

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French; Old French teneure, from Vulgar Latin tenitura (unrecorded), equivalent to tenit(us) (unrecorded) “held” (for Latin tentus, past participle of tenēre “to hold”) + -ura -ure

Explanation

Take the noun tenure for the period of time a person holds a position or office. Your tenure as a student ends when you graduate high school — unless, of course, you go on to college. Tenure from the Latin tenere means "to hold" and refers to the period of time a person works at a particular job or in an office. A president might have to deal with a recession during his tenure in the White House. In university jargon, if you have tenure, you have a permanent teaching position or professorship. In this sense, tenure can also be used as a verb. You've got it made if you're tenured at age 29.

Example Sentences

Prasad stepped down in April, concluding a turbulent tenure marked by public clashes with drugmakers and patient advocacy groups.

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

Manifold said that at no point during his tenure did anyone raise with him issues about his conduct or relationship with colleagues.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

Gehry and Williams also happen to be the two greatest L.A. artists with whom Dudamel became closest during his L.A. tenure.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026

Getting there is not enough to justify a longer tenure, where's the incentive to do well in the US?

From BBC • May 28, 2026

Dr. Gibson-Gray developed the initial theories of spatial teleportation —then colloquially known as “time travel”—during her tenure as a quantum physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Related Words

• administration
• occupation
• ownership
• regime
• reign
• term