Tenement
noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A building that is rented to multiple tenants, especially a low-rent, run-down one.
"He turned into Cumberland street and, going on some paces, halted in the lee of the station wall. No-one. Meade’s timberyard. Piled balks. Ruins and tenements."
- 2 a run-down apartment house barely meeting minimal standards wordnet
- 3 Any form of property that is held by one person from another, rather than being owned.
"The island of Brecqhou is a tenement of Sark."
- 4 A dwelling; abode; habitation. figuratively
"Who has informed us that a rational soul can inhabit no tenement, unless it has just such a sort of frontispiece?"
Example
More examples"The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail — its roof may shake — the wind may blow through it — the storm may enter — the rain may enter — but the King of England cannot enter — all his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement!"
Etymology
From Middle English tenement, from Anglo-Norman tenement (“holding”), from Old French tenement, from Medieval Latin tenimentum, from Latin teneō (“hold”).
Related phrases
More for "tenement"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.