tenure

[ten-yer]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tenure ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the holding or possessing of anything: the tenure of an office.

the holding of property, especially real property, of a superior in return for services to be rendered.

the period or term of holding something.

status granted to an employee, usually after a probationary period, indicating that the position or employment is permanent.

verb (used with object)

to give tenure to: After she served three years on probation, the committee tenured her.

Origin of tenure

1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French; Old French teneure < Vulgar Latin *tenitura, equivalent to *tenit(us) held (for Latin tentus, past participle of tenēre) + -ura -ure

Related formsten·u·ri·al

[ten-yoo r-ee-uh l] /tɛnˈyʊər i əl/, adjectiveten·u·ri·al·ly, adverbnon·ten·u·ri·al, adjectivenon·ten·u·ri·al·ly, adverbun·der·ten·ure, noun

Can be confusedtender tenor tenure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tenure

In this clip, a teenage Minaj gets heated and throws a phone in a play rehearsal during her tenure at LaGuardia High School.
Nicki Minaj: High School Actress|Alex Chancey, The Daily Beast Video|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Simpson also encountered similar situations during his tenure at the Center.
The LGBT Center That Changed Our Lives|Justin Jones|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“That was the longest, most severe S/M session I have experienced in my thirty-four-year tenure,” she writes in the book.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix|Justin Jones|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His stories about his tenure in Washington hype his success in fixing housing problems in “inner cities.”
Andrew Cuomo Ignores Rural New York|David Fontana|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But that tenure ended when he was sent to prison for five years on a racketeering charge.
Former Providence Mayor & Ex-Con Buddy Cianci's Redemption Tour Goes Bust|David Freedlander|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The disturbed condition of their tenure would tend to drive some of the settlers into fresh migration.
The American Egypt|Channing Arnold
It ought, moreover, to possess great firmness, and consequently ought to hold its authority by a tenure of considerable duration.
The Federalist Papers|Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison
I have carefully examined the bill "to regulate the tenure of certain civil offices."
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents|James D. Richardson
Not the least of these is the tenure by which property is held.
The Life of John Marshall (Volume 2 of 4)|Albert J. Beveridge
The tenure of our place and right, as children of God, is that we fight evil to the bitter end.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 6, No 4, October, 1864|Various

British Dictionary definitions for tenure

tenure

noun

the possession or holding of an office or position

the length of time an office, position, etc, lasts; term

mainly US and Canadian the improved security status of a person after having been in the employ of the same company or institution for a specified period

the right to permanent employment until retirement, esp for teachers, lecturers, etc

property law

the holding or occupying of property, esp realty, in return for services rendered, etc
the duration of such holding or occupation

Derived Formstenurial, adjectivetenurially, adverb

Word Origin for tenure

C15: from Old French, from Medieval Latin tenitūra, ultimately 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

Word Origin and History for tenure

early 15c., "holding of a tenement," from Anglo-French and Old French tenure "a tenure, estate in land" (13c.), from Old French tenir "to hold," from Vulgar Latin *tenire, from Latin tenere "to hold" (see tenet). The sense of "condition or fact of holding a status, position, or occupation" is first attested 1590s. Meaning "guaranteed tenure of office" (usually at a university or school) is recorded from 1957.

tenure

noun

verb (used with object)

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Origin of tenure

Examples from the Web for tenure

tenure

noun

Word Origin for tenure