mentorship

American  

[men-tawr-ship, -ter-] / ˈmɛn tɔr ʃɪp, -tər- /

noun

• mentorships
  plural

1. the position or services of a wise and trusted counselor or senior sponsor, often in a particular field.

   Nearly a hundred graduate students received research training in his laboratory and benefited from his mentorship.

2. a relationship or arrangement with such a counselor or sponsor.

   To develop my writing craft, I’m currently undertaking a mentorship with a well-known fantasy writer.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mentorships
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mentorship

mentor ( def. ) + -ship ( def. )

Explanation

When someone you trust and admire gives you support, guidance, and advice, that's mentorship. The mentorship of your writing teacher can help you find your authentic voice. A mentor provides mentorship, and both words derive from Mentor, a character in Homer's The Odyssey who Odysseus's friend and a trusted advisor to Telemachus. The person at work who shows you the ropes when you're new provides mentorship, and a basketball veteran who takes a rookie under their wing does too. Mentorship can mean a helpful guidance counselor, a sibling explaining what high school is like, or an expert plumber advising an apprentice.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mentorship mentorships

He is a co-sponsor for the Black Student Union, the school climate advocate for the Black Student Achievement Plan and he runs a mentorship program.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Freestone became her curator after reaching out to Kreitzman over email for advice and mentorship, and is now one of her closest friends.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Some provide free housing, mentorship and networking opportunities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

The aim is to provide mentorship and English practice for the younger participants, and social interaction for the older adults.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

Rulean Pennyfeather was an old man now, but he had been under the Gran’s mentorship since he’d been chosen as an Uncle when he was thirteen, the customary age.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

In 1977, the Fishers launched the Gap Foundation, which provides donations to disaster-relief efforts and supports programs that provide skills to female garment workers and mentorships to young minority workers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026

She has dedicated her time to the creative development and empowerment of communities, working closely with schools, galleries, organizations, museums and others to develop art workshops, murals and mentorships for youth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2024

This led some to build networking groups and mentorships.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 3, 2024

To get there, she attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and began seeking mentorships designed to bolster young filmmakers.

From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2023

Tell me about your training, education and/or mentorships.

From Salon ● May 25, 2023