tenement

noun

ten·​e·​ment ˈte-nə-mənt 

1

a

: tenement house

b

: apartment, flat

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

: dwelling

Synonyms

• apartment
• penthouse

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

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

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

Phrases Containing tenement

• tenement house

Rhymes for tenement

• presentiment

Kids Definition

tenement

noun

ten·​e·​ment ˈten-ə-mənt 

1

a

: a house used as a dwelling

b

: apartment sense 1, flat

c

: tenement house

2

: dwelling

Legal Definition

tenement

noun

ten·​e·​ment ˈte-nə-mənt 

1

a

: any of various forms of property (as land) that is held by one person from another

b

: an estate in property

2

: dwelling

Etymology

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