mentorship
Americannoun
-
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.
-
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.
Etymology
Origin of mentorship
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.
Vocabulary lists containing mentorship
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ship
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-ship
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Before beginning his mentorship with Heifner, Ilunga studied by visiting Vuori stores across L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026
About £1.75m, the vast majority from Swale Borough Council, was spent on renovating Masters House, which since 2023 has housed a project that supports young local entrepreneurs with mentorship and reduced rents for business space.
From BBC • May 4, 2026
Winners took home a shared grant of $600,000 and will receive ongoing mentorship from Fashion Trust U.S. and Google.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
Back home, she founded a media-focused mentorship program and transformed a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house into a studio, where she recorded her own music and hosted community classes on the music business.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
I’m regretting saying yes to this mentorship program.
From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
