tenderloin
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
A district of a city where corruption is common, often because the district is devoted to questionable businesses (peep shows, etc) which are easy for police to blackmail and extort.
Register: dated, slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “tenderloin” mean?
A district of a city where corruption is common, often because the district is devoted to questionable businesses (peep shows, etc) which are easy for police to blackmail and extort.
Is “tenderloin” formal or informal?
tenderloin is generally dated, slang.