residency

American  

[rez-i-duhn-see] / ˈrɛz ɪ dən si /

noun

• residencies
  plural

1. residence.

2. the position or tenure of a medical resident.

3. (formerly) the official residence of a representative of the British governor general at an Indian court.

4. (formerly) an administrative division of the Dutch East Indies.

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residency British  

/ ˈrɛzɪdənsɪ /

noun

1. a variant of residence

2. a regular series of concerts by a band or singer at one venue

3. the period, following internship, during which a physician undergoes further clinical training, usually in one medical speciality

4. (in India, formerly) the official house of the governor general at the court of a native prince

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• residencies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of residency

First recorded in 1570–80; resid(ent) + -ency

Explanation

Your residency is where you live, officially. A residency is also a temporary professional visit, like when a doctor does a residency at a hospital or a poet does a residency at a school. When someone emigrates to another country, they don't just visit temporarily — they gain residency in the new country, becoming a legal resident. And if you get a driver's license, you'll get it in the state where you have residency. Another way to use this noun is to mean "a stage of medical training." After attending medical school, new doctors have a residency at a hospital, where they specialize in a particular branch of medicine.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

residency residencies

The most passionate have tickets for multiple shows of his Madison Square Garden residency that starts this week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

The U.S. has also been revoking the visas and residency cards of Havana insiders and their family members.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Most jurisdictions confirm only basic qualifications for holding office including age, residency and voter registration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

But it adds negotiations over police protection for the family "may reopen" owing to their permanent residency in the UK.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

But if our application for permanent residency got denied by the government and we were shipped back to Iran, then Kia's citizenship status wouldn't make a difference.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

She says that often successful writers are supported by wealthy husbands, by grants, by residencies.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Homeland Security data from the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, the latest available, shows that of some 350,000 new permanent residencies issued, about 190,000—54 percent—were adjustments, which is in keeping with historical trends.

From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026

Nonetheless, the organization’s 80 acres are home to a variety of artist residencies, which use the windswept isolation of the desert to activate dormant ideas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2026

That includes concepts like salons, workshops, books, reports, performances, zines and residencies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

The residencies of Cheribon, Baglen and Madura, are those in which the crop succeeds best.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds

Related Words

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