stewardship
noun
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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).
Synonyms
Examples of stewardship in a Sentence
Damien Cave Atul Loke, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2024
The Ivy League school said the removal followed a review by the Houghton Library of the book’s stewardship, prompted by the recommendations of a Harvard University report on the human remains in its museum collections.
—Brian Brant, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
Frameworks on data governance will need to be set up to address regulatory compliance, privacy concerns and security risks while fostering a culture of responsible data stewardship across the organization.
—Byron Fernandez, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Each element was meant to represent different aspects of the city’s image — acorns for legacy and history, the hawk for vision and stewardship, cattails for peace and prosperity, flowers for beauty and balance, and the fog to highlight the city as part of the larger Bay Area.
—Sierra Lopez, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
During their stewardship, the sprawling 90-acre property grew to include a 35-site RV campground.
—Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2024
McConnell survived a leadership challenge after the 2022 midterm elections, overcoming opposition from a group of conservatives disillusioned with his stewardship of the GOP conference.
—Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024
Set in feudal Japan at the start of the 17th century, the story begins with a European ship that reaches a fishing village under the stewardship of English pilot John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis).
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 26 Feb. 2024
Not everyone is enthralled with such ad hoc acts of stewardship, though.
—Jane Margolies, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stewardship.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near stewardship
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“Stewardship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stewardship. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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stewardship
noun
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