stewardship

noun

stew·​ard·​ship ˈstü-ərd-ˌship 

ˈstyü-;

ˈst(y)u̇rd-

1

: the office, duties, and obligations of a steward

2

: the conducting, supervising, or managing of something

especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care

stewardship of natural resources

Did you know?

Good Stewardship

When stewardship first appeared in English during the Middle Ages, it functioned as a job description, denoting the office of a steward, or manager of a large household. Over the centuries, its range of reference spread to the oversight of law courts, employee unions, college dining halls, Masonic lodges, and many other organizations. In recent years, the long-established "management" sense of stewardship has evolved a positive meaning, “careful and responsible management.” This sense is commonly found nowadays in contexts such as “stewardship of the environment, the family business,” etc. It also occasionally appears as an adjective in phrases such as “stewardship fundraising" (that is, fundraising aimed at building good relationships with donors in order to keep them loyal).

Synonyms

• administration
• care
• charge
• conduct
• control
• direction
• governance
• government
• guidance
• handling
• intendance
• management
• operation
• oversight
• presidency
• regulation
• running
• superintendence
• superintendency
• supervision

Examples of stewardship in a Sentence

generally the dean left the day-to-day stewardship of the college to the assistant dean

she believes that stewardship of the environment is everyone's responsibility

Recent Examples on the Web

Under his stewardship, Tesla has revolutionized transportation, making electric cars a reality and superseding the performance and battery efficiency that industry insiders thought possible. —Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2024

The hub is pursuing environmental and water stewardship along the SAF value chain, from feedstock to refining at the Minneapolis airport. —Ted Reed, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024

Economy/issues Trump leads Harris by 8 points overall in trust to handle the economy and 7 points on inflation, consistent results since August that are central to his competitiveness and reflect Harris' challenges breaking free from dissatisfaction with Biden's economic stewardship. —Gary Langer, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2024

Under Tata’s stewardship, the conglomerate embarked on an expansion drive that turned the tables on India’s colonial past. —Shawn Tully, Fortune Asia, 10 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

stewardship

noun

stew·​ard·​ship ˈst(y)ü-ərd-ˌship 

ˈst(y)u̇(-ə)rd-

1

: the office and duties of a steward

2

: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care

stewardship of our natural resources