association

UK: /əˌsəʊsiˈeɪʃ^ən/

US: /əˌsoʊsiˈeɪʃən, -ʃi-/

US: (ə sō′sē ā′shən, -shē-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

as•so•ci•a•tion /əˌsoʊsiˈeɪʃən, -ʃi-/   n. 

1. an organization of people with a common purpose:
   [countable] an alumni association.
2. the act of associating or the state of being associated:
   [uncountable] I learned from my association with them.
3. an idea suggested by or connected with something else:
   [countable] Thinking of the small town I grew up in evokes many pleasant associations.

See -soc-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

as•so•ci•a•tion  (ə sō′sē ā′shən, -shē-), n. 

1. an organization of people with a common purpose and having a formal structure.
2. the act of associating or state of being associated.
3. friendship;
   companionship:
   Their close association did not last long.
4. connection or combination.
5. the connection or relation of ideas, feelings, sensations, etc.;
   correlation of elements of perception, reasoning, or the like.
6. an idea, image, feeling, etc., suggested by or connected with something other than itself;
   an accompanying thought, emotion, or the like;
   an overtone or connotation:
   My associations with that painting are of springlike days.
7. Ecology a group of plants of one or more species living together under uniform environmental conditions and having a uniform and distinctive aspect.
8. Chemistry a weak form of chemical bonding involving aggregation of molecules of the same compound.
9. Sport See touch football. 
10. Astronomy See stellar association. 

• Medieval Latin associātiōn- (stem of associātiō). See associate, -ion
• Middle French)
• (1525–35

as•so′ci•a′tion•al, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. alliance, union; society, company; band.
• 3. fellowship.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

association / əˌsəʊsɪˈeɪʃən -ʃɪ-/ noun

1. a group of people having a common purpose or interest; a society or club
2. the act of associating or the state of being associated
3. friendship or companionship: their association will not last
4. a mental connection of ideas, feelings, or sensations
5. the mental process of linking ideas so that the recurrence of one idea automatically recalls the other
   See also free association
6. the formation of groups of molecules and ions, esp in liquids, held together by weak chemical bonds
7. a group of similar plants that grow in a uniform environment and contain one or more dominant species