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

Alonso then resigned as manager after losing to Barca in the Spanish Super Cup in January, before the tenure of his replacement, former team-mate Arbeloa, began with a Copa del Rey defeat to second-division Albacete.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

Under his tenure, Benin's public finances have been cleaned up, with the deficit cut by a third and brought down to three percent of GDP.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Pam Bondi’s tenure at the Department of Justice started out with such promise.

From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026

But he has extended his tenure and is now expected to remain in charge until at least 2030.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Still, Pearson had to be more mindful of the concerns of black residents than at the beginning of his career—even if that mindfulness didn't translate into any substantive changes during his tenure.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

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