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

The signing touched off the career and Davis’s long mentorship of the soul star who would become one of the top-selling musical artists and is widely regarded as among the greatest singers of all time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

If your company is investing in its talent, like developing mentorship programs or creating clear pathways to promotions, that is a sign that they are interested in retaining employees.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 12, 2026

I’m regretting saying yes to this mentorship program.

From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson

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

Since 2021, Harborview providers have worked to connect young people shot in King County with services — social workers, counseling, mentorships, job training and housing assistance — while they’re still in the hospital.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 23, 2023

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

WriteGirl serves about 400 teen girls a year, supporting their writing through workshops and mentorships with professional female writers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2021