Examples of tenure in a Sentence
Jim Wooten, New York Times Magazine, 29 Jan. 1995
Pittsburgh's offensive linemen, trap blockers during Noll's tenure, had to bulk up for the straight-ahead game.
—Paul Zimmerman, Sports Illustrated, 9 Nov. 1992
A mural on the upper half of a four-story guesthouse was painted in 1977 by twelve-year-old schoolchildren, whose tenure on the scaffold must have thrilled their parents.
—John McPhee, New Yorker, 22 Feb. 1988
During his tenure as head coach, the team won the championship twice.
her 12-year tenure with the company
His tenure in office will end with the next election.
After seven years I was finally granted tenure.
He hopes to get tenure next year.
The defendant did not have tenure on the land.
land tenure in Anglo-Saxon Britain
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Raven Smith, Vogue, 15 Nov. 2023
After teaching in Italy for two years, Mr. Wynn began his tenure at Purchase in 1986.
—Brian Seibert, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023
The only reminder of the bankrupt company's brief tenure as the town's biggest employer is a plaque honoring its donation to a nearby high school athletic field.
—Joshua Goodman, arkansasonline.com, 12 Nov. 2023
In 2019, the organization invited more women than men to join for the first time, and over the course of Bailey’s tenure the number of people of color in the group more than doubled.
—Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2023
Mulkey won three titles at Baylor prior to her tenure at LSU.
—Natasha Dye, Peoplemag, 7 Nov. 2023
Throughout his tenure on Bravo, Carl has lost his brother, gone through his sobriety journey, and has now publicly dealt with a breakup from his fiancé.
—Krystie Lee Yandoli, Rolling Stone, 5 Nov. 2023
Russia began to buy, adopt, and then assimilate systems and knowledge from the West, especially under President Dmitry Medvedev, whose tenure lasted from 2008 to 2012.
—Foreign Affairs, 3 Nov. 2023
During his four-year tenure, Brognano helped to breathe new life into Blumarine, which hit a peak in the 1990s but lost traction in the 2010s.
—Kati Chitrakorn, Vogue, 2 Nov. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tenure.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Middle English, "possession of land under obligation to a superior, the land so held," borrowed from Anglo-French tenure, teneure, going back to Gallo-Romance *tenitūra "act of possessing," from Latin ten-, base of tenēre "to hold, possess" + -it-, generalized from past participles ending in -itus + -ūra -ure — more at tenant entry 1
Note: A number of renderings of the word in Medieval Latin from the 11th century on (as tenetura, tenatura, tentura, tenura, etc.) may reflect stages in the passage from Latin to French or attempts to Latinize a vernacular form.
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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Cite this Entry
“Tenure.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenure. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.
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Kids Definition
tenure
noun
Legal Definition
tenure
noun
Anglo-French, feudal holding, from Old French teneüre, from Medieval Latin tenitura, ultimately from Latin tenēre to hold
More from Merriam-Webster on tenure
Nglish: Translation of tenure for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of tenure for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tenure
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