Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

tenured

American  
[ten-yerd] / ˈtɛn jərd /

adjective

  1. of, having, or eligible for tenure, especially in a college or university.

    There are three tenured professors in the history department.

  2. granting, allowing, or leading to tenure.

    None of the advertised jobs is a tenured position.


tenured British  
/ ˈtɛnjʊəd, ˈtɛnjəd /

adjective

    1. having tenure of office

      a tenured professor

    2. guaranteeing tenure of office

      a tenured post

"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

Etymology

Origin of tenured

First recorded in 1960–65; tenure + -ed 3

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.

See Examples For:

Donald Francis Bohlinger, 70, a tenured professor of screenwriting at USC, Los Angeles, who drives a 2024 Nissan Ariya.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 12, 2026

Rossin-Slater and Persson, now tenured professors at Stanford, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 20, 2026

Last week, an arbitrator overturned that decision and ordered the school to reinstate the tenured professor.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 30, 2026

It was a huge promotion, even for such a tenured executive.

From The Wall Street Journal May 25, 2026

It was sometimes difficult to believe that Dr. Roland was a tenured professor in the Social Science Department of this, a distinguished college.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training