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

The film is set within a decaying Khmer Rouge–era tenement in Phnom Penh. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025

Her novels always burst with a rich historical vibrancy, but The Gilded Heiress in particular brings to life the streets and tenements of the Gilded Age, as well as the burgeoning success of Broadway as industry. —EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025

As the deteriorating tenements emptied, the arson began. —Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025

The options are unpleasant tenements on one side and unaffordable houses on the other. —Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 11 Aug. 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