stewardship
Americannoun
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the position and duties of a steward, a person who acts as the surrogate of another or others, especially by managing property, financial affairs, an estate, etc.
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the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving.
New regulatory changes will result in better stewardship of lands that are crucial for open space and wildlife habitat.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stewardship
Explanation
Stewardship means the management or care of something, particularly the kind that works. If your company is making money, there’s probably been careful stewardship — or, a lot of luck. The sphere or responsibility of a steward (as in a manager or administrator), stewardship is often used to mean "the care, handling and management of resources." Your school requires stewardship to make sure its supplies aren’t stretched. Your clean water may be thanks to the stewardship of an environmental office. Though there is a steward on a ship to handle food and supplies, the ship in stewardship is not a seagoing vessel; it's just a suffix.
Vocabulary lists containing stewardship
Leadership Vocabulary
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Frightful's Mountain
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Fablehaven
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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.
"MMA recognizes the ocean floor surrounding American Samoa carries cultural, economic, and environmental significance, requiring that the pursuit of national security and energy readiness is balanced with rigorous environmental stewardship," he added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
Assembly Bill 2494 aims to pivot state demonstration forests away from commercial logging toward ecotourism and Indigenous stewardship.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Almost two months after being appointed Test coach, Stephen Fleming outlined what the England team may look like under his stewardship.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Our critic praised the presentation, saying “‘The Ark’ underscores why humanity has always been enamored with the animal kingdom, and reminds us that our stewardship of it should be a labor of love.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Her stewardship of the section had supported the careers of women like Katherine Goble, who would ultimately receive her country’s highest civilian honor for her contributions to the space program.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
