Definition of tenement
1a : tenement houseb : apartment, flatc : a house used as a dwelling : residence
2 : any of various forms of corporeal property (such as land) or incorporeal property that is held by one person from another
3 : dwelling
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Examples of tenement in a Sentence
an exhibit of pictures showing the tenements of the New York City neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen during the 1920s
Recent Examples of tenement from the Web
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By 1921, the New York Community Service was recommending that all new schools install bath units for children from the tenements.
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The Jews toiled in the garment trade, at first in stifling tenements, then in factory sweatshops.
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And Mr. Flower was fretting about an 1890s get-up themed to Jewish tenements.
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Note that while all of the streetlamps have been pilfered, the scene is still fully illuminated by a nearby tenement building that was torched by a landlord angling for an insurance payout.
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Within the narrow boundaries of the stradale and the tenement courtyard, life is raw, and both the social and moral geography are strict and cruel.
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This anxious moment edits the out the anxieties of Christmases past: secondhand bicycles are winged horses, stewed hens are feasts of great-breasted turkeys, tenements have warm hearths giving off the odor of aged oak burning high.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tenement'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of tenement
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin tenementum, from Latin tenēre to hold — more at thin
First Known Use: 14th century
TENEMENT Defined for English Language Learners
tenement
playDefinition of tenement for English Language Learners
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: a large building that has apartments or rooms for rent and that is usually in a poorer part of a city
TENEMENT Defined for Kids
tenement
playDefinition of tenement for Students
: a building divided into separate apartments for rent
Law Dictionary
Origin and Etymology of tenement
Anglo-French, from Old French, from Medieval Latin tenementum, from Latin tenēre to hold
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