stewardship

noun

stew·​ard·​ship ˈstü-ərd-ˌship 

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).

Synonyms

• administration
• care
• charge
• conduct
• control
• direction
• governance
• government
• guidance
• handling
• intendance
• management
• operation
• oversight
• presidency
• regulation
• running
• superintendence
• superintendency
• supervision

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

Elon Musk's stewardship of what was once called Twitter has amplified conservative voices, while Mark Zuckerberg's Meta made headlines last week by suddenly scrapping its fact-checking program and DEI initiatives. —Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025

During its decade under Cate’s stewardship, the car has appeared in multiple TV shows, including MotorWeek, My Classic Car, Car Crazy, Country Music TV, and MTV Cribs. —Howard Walker, Robb Report, 13 Jan. 2025

Mastodon will then complete the transfer of ownership and stewardship before determining which other legal structures are necessary for its operations and sustainability. —Jibin Joseph, PCMAG, 13 Jan. 2025

Tom’s of Maine was demonstrating how businesses could balance profitability with environmental stewardship and social responsibility long before sustainability became a corporate buzzword. —Jason Phillips, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

stewardship

noun

stew·​ard·​ship ˈst(y)ü-ərd-ˌship 

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