tenement

noun

ten·​e·​ment ˈte-nə-mənt How to pronounce tenement (audio)
1
c
: 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

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 on the Web
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Eventually the town and local church leaders then converted the tenement into a museum and a Polish businessman bought the building and donated it to the church. Michael Loria, USA Today, 18 June 2025 Painted in a housing estate known as Osiedle A, one of the few remaining 1950s-style tenements, the glamour of Kiwior in a bright red Arsenal jersey is a symbol of how radically Poland’s living standards have improved in his lifetime. Adam Crafton, New York Times, 2 May 2025 The park was created after a large fire in 1835 devastated an overcrowded tenement on the site. Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2025 Her husband is working full time again at a factory, but Mr. Trump’s plan to put a 46 percent tariff on imports from Vietnam hangs over their family, which lives in a row of concrete tenements on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City. Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, 4 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for tenement

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "the holding of property, the property so held, building, dwelling," borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin tenementum, tenimentum, teneamentum, from Latin tenēre "to hold, occupy, possess" + -mentum -ment — more at tenant entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of tenement was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Tenement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenement. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

tenement

noun
ten·​e·​ment ˈten-ə-mənt How to pronounce tenement (audio)
1
a
: a house used as a dwelling
2

Legal Definition

tenement

noun
ten·​e·​ment ˈte-nə-mənt How to pronounce tenement (audio)
1
a
: any of various forms of property (as land) that is held by one person from another
b
: an estate in property
2
Etymology

Anglo-French, from Old French, from Medieval Latin tenementum, from Latin tenēre to hold

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