stewardship

noun

stew·​ard·​ship ˈstü-ərd-ˌship How to pronounce stewardship (audio)
ˈstyü-;
ˈst(y)u̇rd-
1
: the office, duties, and obligations of a steward
2
: the conducting, supervising, or managing of something
especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care
stewardship of natural resources

Did you know?

Good Stewardship

When stewardship first appeared in English during the Middle Ages, it functioned as a job description, denoting the office of a steward, or manager of a large household. Over the centuries, its range of reference spread to the oversight of law courts, employee unions, college dining halls, Masonic lodges, and many other organizations. In recent years, the long-established "management" sense of stewardship has evolved a positive meaning, “careful and responsible management.” This sense is commonly found nowadays in contexts such as “stewardship of the environment, the family business,” etc. It also occasionally appears as an adjective in phrases such as “stewardship fundraising" (that is, fundraising aimed at building good relationships with donors in order to keep them loyal).

Examples of stewardship in a Sentence

generally the dean left the day-to-day stewardship of the college to the assistant dean she believes that stewardship of the environment is everyone's responsibility
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.
Our activities promote environmental stewardship, social justice and sound governance practices. Suat Bakkal, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025 But on two fronts, Grier continued a risky pattern that has marked his stewardship of the franchise, often to his team’s detriment. Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 13 Mar. 2025 As Wall Street buckles under the tariff back-and-forth, Trump’s stewardship of the economy is under new scrutiny. Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 12 Mar. 2025 Listen to this article When the San Diego County Taxpayers Association announced the surprise and immediate resignation of chief executive Haney Hong early last week, officials were quick to credit their leader for his years of service and able stewardship of the organization. Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for stewardship

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stewardship was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stewardship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stewardship. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

stewardship

noun
stew·​ard·​ship ˈst(y)ü-ərd-ˌship How to pronounce stewardship (audio)
ˈst(y)u̇(-ə)rd-
1
: the office and duties of a steward
2
: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care
stewardship of our natural resources

More from Merriam-Webster on stewardship

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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