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PlainSpell

tenure

ten·ure/ˈtɛn.jɚ/noun, verb

tenure is spelled T-E-N-U-R-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (ten·ure). It appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tenure means “A status of possessing a thing or an office; an incumbency” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tenure is tenures.

How many letters and syllables are in tenure?

Letters6: T-E-N-U-R-E
Syllables2: ten·ure
In writing8.5 times per million words; the 7,910th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is tenure?

Tenure appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce tenure?

  • UK /ˈtɛn.jʊə/
  • UK /ˈtɛn.jə/
  • US /ˈtɛn.jɚ/

Tenure has 2 syllables, split ten·ure in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-tenure.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with tenure?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as tenure (/ɛnjəɹ/).

Spelled with the same letters in another order: neuter, tureen, retune.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of tenure

  • tenures plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • tenuring participle, present
  • tenured participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does tenure mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A status of possessing a thing or an office; an incumbency.

  2. 2

    A period of time during which something is possessed.

  3. 3

    A status of having a permanent post with enhanced job security within an academic institution.

  4. 4

    A right to hold land under the feudal system.

verb

  1. 1

    To grant tenure, the status of having a permanent academic position, to (someone).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Tenure in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
GermanBesitz (status of possessing a thing or an office), Amtszeit (period of time possessed), Bekleidung, Innehaben, Inhaberschaft (status of having a permanent post), Besitztitel (right to hold land under the feudal system)
Portuguesetença (status of possessing a thing or an office), estabilidade (status of having a permanent post), efetivar (to grant tenure)
Spanishtenencia (status of possessing a thing or an office), antigüedad (period of time possessed), titularidad, permanencia, cátedra (status of having a permanent post)
Frenchtitularisation (status of having a permanent post), tenure (right to hold land under the feudal system)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does tenure come from?

From Middle English tenure, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French tenure, from Vulgar Latin *tenitura, from *tenitus, from Latin tentus (from teneō) + -ura.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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