Meaning & use
tenure
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
The length of time someone holds a job, office, or position.
Grammar: Often after a possessive: during her tenure as mayor.
Patterns
- tenure as something
- during someone's tenure
- tenure at somewhere
During her tenure as mayor, the town built a new library.
His tenure at the club lasted five years.
The coach's tenure ended after a long losing streak.
noununcountable
A guaranteed right to keep a teaching job at a university or school, so you cannot easily be fired.
Grammar: No article: she got tenure.
Patterns
- get tenure
- be granted tenure
- a tenure-track job
She earned tenure after seven years of research.
Tenure protects professors who say unpopular things.
He is on the tenure track at the state university.
noununcountablelegal
The legal right to hold land or a building, or the conditions under which it is held.
Grammar: Often in the compounds land tenure or security of tenure.
Patterns
- land tenure
- security of tenure
Farmers there lack secure land tenure.
Tenants gained greater security of tenure under the new law.
Word forms
| plural | tenures |
|---|
Common combinations
- during his tenure
- Profits doubled during his tenure.
- tenure track
- She joined the tenure track after her doctorate.
- grant tenure
- The university granted him tenure.
- land tenure
- Land tenure laws affect small farmers.
- short tenure
- The manager had a short tenure at the firm.
Synonyms and how they differ
- term
- Term is a set period in office, often fixed by law, while tenure is how long someone actually holds the post.
- incumbency
- Incumbency is the period of holding an office, usually a political one, and is more formal.
- job security
- Job security is the general safety of a job, while tenure is a formal academic guarantee.
- occupancy
- Occupancy is about using a space, while tenure covers the legal right to hold it.
Word family
Commonly confused: tenure or tenor?
tenure vs tenor
Tenor means a singing voice or the general sense of something. Tenure is about holding a job or land.
Practice
What does tenure mean in: 'The professor was granted tenure after six years'?
Choose one answer.
Academic tenure is protection against being easily dismissed. It is not a vacation, a pay cut, or an award.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tenure”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.