tenement

American  

[ten-uh-muhnt] / ˈtɛn ə mənt /

noun

1. Also called tenement house.  a run-down and often overcrowded apartment house, especially in a poor section of a large city.

2. Law.

   1. any species of permanent property, as lands, houses, rents, an office, or a franchise, that may be held of another.

   2. tenements, freehold interests in things immovable considered as subjects of property.

3. British. an apartment or room rented by a tenant.

4. Archaic. any abode or habitation.

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tenement British  

/ ˈtɛnəmənt, ˌtɛnəˈmɛntəl /

noun

1. Also called: tenement building.  (now esp in Scotland) a large building divided into separate flats

2. a dwelling place or residence, esp one intended for rent

3. a room or flat for rent

4. property law any form of permanent property, such as land, dwellings, offices, etc

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Other Word Forms

• tenemental adjective
• tenementary adjective
• tenemented adjective

Etymology

Origin of tenement

1250–1300; Middle English < Medieval Latin tenēmentum, equivalent to Latin tenē ( re ) to hold + -mentum -ment

Explanation

A tenement is a run-down apartment building. The tenements in Old New York were barely safe enough to live in — fire hazards, no air circulation, and no bathrooms, either. When different immigrant groups first came to the United States in the 1800s, they didn't have much money and would often end up living in close quarters with many people in a small apartment, or tenement. These buildings were notorious for catching fire and collapsing. In 1901, New York City passed a law that said all tenement apartments had to have running water — ah, indoor plumbing! — and required that each room have a window.

Example Sentences

I had lived in a tenement building in New York’s Chinatown.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026

Roy Porter’s kaleidoscopic portrait of 18th-century England captures high and low society, from stately home to poor tenement.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

The tenement block was one of two buildings badly damaged by fire within months of each other on the same crossroads several years ago.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025

Riis exposed Lower East Side slum conditions in tenement photographs that would form the basis for his renowned book, “How the Other Half Lives.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2025

Feeling vaguely queasy, I watched him until he reached the next block, then entered my tenement.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Related Words

• rookery
• slum