tenement
noun
ten·e·ment
ˈte-nə-mənt 
1
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
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
Trudy’s swim inspires the whole world, including her hometown of New York City, the tenement buildings filled with immigrants listening to her journey on the radio.
—
Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2024
The film starts with Ederle as a child on death’s door with measles in a New York City tenement.
—Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 31 May 2024
Much like immigrants in New York City’s tenement buildings in the 1850s, UT students have been left to fend for themselves.
—Juan Miró, The Conversation, 16 May 2024
Funded by the Henry Street Settlement, Rogers set up clinics in four schools to care for the district’s students, all of whom lived in poverty with their families in the tenements of Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
—TIME, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for tenement 
Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2024
The film starts with Ederle as a child on death’s door with measles in a New York City tenement.
—Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 31 May 2024
Much like immigrants in New York City’s tenement buildings in the 1850s, UT students have been left to fend for themselves.
—Juan Miró, The Conversation, 16 May 2024
Funded by the Henry Street Settlement, Rogers set up clinics in four schools to care for the district’s students, all of whom lived in poverty with their families in the tenements of Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
—TIME, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for tenement
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tenement.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tenement
Cite this Entry
“Tenement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenement. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tenement
noun
ten·e·ment
ˈten-ə-mənt
1
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
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