tenure-track

adjective

: relating to or being a teaching position that may lead to a grant of tenure

Examples of tenure-track in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Harper arrived at Bates College in Maine in 2020 as an idealistic new PhD in comparative literature, grateful for the tenure-track job that promised him that rarest of prizes these days — a career in the humanities. Gary Rosen, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2026 In 1970 people with tenure or tenure-track jobs constituted 73% of those teaching at colleges and universities. Paul Osterman, The Conversation, 11 Aug. 2026 Right, a tenure-track job is one of the ways writers have traditionally found stability! Literary Hub, 27 July 2026 Job openings for academics in the humanities are likewise in decline, and fewer and fewer of the remaining positions are tenure-track. Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for tenure-track

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tenure-track was in 1976

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tenure-track.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenure-track. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster