tenure

American  

[ten-yer] / ˈtɛn yər /

noun

1. the holding or possessing of anything.

   the tenure of an office.

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

3. the period or term of holding something.

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

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verb (used with object)

1. to give tenure to.

   After she served three years on probation, the committee tenured her.

tenure British  

/ ˈtɛnjə, ˈtɛnjʊə /

noun

1. the possession or holding of an office or position

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

3. the improved security status of a person after having been in the employ of the same company or institution for a specified period

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

5. property law

   1. the holding or occupying of property, esp realty, in return for services rendered, etc

   2. the duration of such holding or occupation

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Other Word Forms

• nontenurial adjective
• nontenurially adverb
• tenurial adjective
• tenurially adverb
• undertenure noun

Etymology

Origin of tenure

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French; Old French teneure, from Vulgar Latin tenitura (unrecorded), equivalent to tenit(us) (unrecorded) “held” (for Latin tentus, past participle of tenēre “to hold”) + -ura -ure

Example Sentences

The coalition, a partnership dating back to the 1940s, has twice split and reunited under her leadership, further undermining her tenure.

From BBC

His predecessor’s tenure was “defined by the misery known as ‘stagflation’—high inflation and low growth,” the president wrote in these pages last month.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the futures market suggests better than 4-in-10 odds that another Fed cut will come before May, when Powell’s tenure as Fed chair ends.

From The Wall Street Journal

Not making partner, getting tenure or landing a crucial promotion is consequential professionally for most people.

From The Wall Street Journal

It is fair, then, to deduce we are likely to be at the beginning of the end of his trophy-laden tenure in the blue half of Manchester.

From BBC

Related Words

• administration
• occupation
• ownership
• regime
• reign
• term