tenement

[ ten-uh-muhnt ]

/ ˈtɛn ə mənt /

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See synonyms for: tenement / tenements on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

Law.

any species of permanent property, as lands, houses, rents, an office, or a franchise, that may be held of another.
tenements, freehold interests in things immovable considered as subjects of property.

British. an apartment or room rented by a tenant.

Archaic. any abode or habitation.

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Origin of tenement

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

OTHER WORDS FROM tenement

ten·e·men·tal

[ten-uh-men-tl], /ˌtɛn əˈmɛn tl/, ten·e·men·ta·ry

[ten-uh-men-tuh-ree], /ˌtɛn əˈmɛn tə ri/, adjectiveten·e·ment·ed, adjective

Words nearby tenement

tenebrific, tenebrionid, tenebrism, tenebrous, Tenedos, tenement, Tenerife, tenesmus, tenet, tenfold, ten-four

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tenement in a sentence

Born Josephine Occhiuto in Brooklyn, she grew up in a walk-up tenement building.
Joy Behar Won't Shut Up|Belinda Luscombe|July 27, 2022|Time
The Progressive Era was an age of civic experimentation at the level of the tenement, neighborhood, city, and state.
How America Can Rebuild the Community Bonds It Needs to Face the Next Pandemic|Céline R. Gounder|January 11, 2022|Time
She got involved with the early labor movement and with tenement reform.
Eleanor Roosevelt: Feminist Icon|Eleanor Clift|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You've seen gingerbread houses...but have you ever made your own gingerbread tenement?
You Better Not Cry|Daily Beast Promotions|December 1, 2009|DAILY BEAST

The road led to an old fashioned, high gabled farm-house at the foot of the hill; the only tenement visible from that lonely spot.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie
Sam was lowered first to the roof of the tenement which we have said was already on fire, and stood ready to receive Liz.
The Garret and the Garden|R.M. Ballantyne
Looking back through the rear window, he saw Carlson turn up a narrow walk between two tenement buildings.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
Governor Street was just as dirty and squalid as any other tenement-house street in the poorer section of a middle-class city.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison
He has a wife and seven children living down on Governor Street, in a miserable tenement.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison

British Dictionary definitions for tenement

tenement

/ (ˈtɛnəmənt) /

noun

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

a dwelling place or residence, esp one intended for rent

mainly British a room or flat for rent

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

Derived forms of tenement

tenemental (ˌtɛnəˈmɛntəl) or tenementary, adjectivetenemented, adjective

Word Origin for tenement

C14: from Medieval Latin tenementum, from Latin tenēre to hold

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tenement

Origin of tenement

OTHER WORDS FROM tenement

Words nearby tenement

Words related to tenement

How to use tenement in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tenement

Derived forms of tenement

Word Origin for tenement