tenement
noun
a run-down and often overcrowded apartment house, especially in a poor section of a large city.
tenements
-
pluralof tenement.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
The tenements at Clune Park in Port Glasgow were built a century ago as housing for shipyard workers but most of the buildings lay empty for years.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Her crusade reflected her earlier shock upon seeing Lower East Side tenements for the first time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
In the first four years of her life, her family relocated 11 times, moving in with relatives after evictions, or into rat-infested Philadelphia tenements.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2025
It’s one of the world’s largest and densest slum clusters where families of six often live in 100-square tenements and 80 people may share a toilet.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 16, 2024
A few dark figures darted along ramshackle storefronts and dilapidated tenements; theatergoers fled down darkened alleys.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
