member
Americannoun
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a person, animal, plant, group, etc., that is part of a society, party, community, taxon, or other body.
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Government.
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a member of Congress, especially of the House of Representatives.
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a member of the British Parliament, especially of the House of Commons.
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any member of a legislative body.
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a part or organ of an animal body; a limb, as a leg, arm, or wing.
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Botany. a structural entity of a plant body.
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the penis.
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a constituent part of any structural or composite whole, as a subordinate architectural feature of a building.
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Mathematics.
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either side of an equation.
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an element of a set.
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Geology. a stratigraphic unit recognized within a formation, and mapped as such.
adjective
noun
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short for Member of Parliament
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short for Member of Congress
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a member of some other legislative body
noun
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a person who belongs to a club, political party, etc
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any individual plant or animal in a taxonomic group
a member of the species
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any part of an animal body, such as a limb
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another word for penis
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any part of a plant, such as a petal, root, etc
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maths any individual object belonging to a set or logical class
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a distinct part of a whole, such as a proposition in a syllogism
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a component part of a building or construction
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A quantity that belongs to a set.
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The expression on either side of an equal sign.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of member
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English membre, from Old French, from Latin membrum
Explanation
If you're a member, you belong to a group or club. The late comedian Groucho Marx famously said, "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member." Go figure. When an object, like a plant or an element, is a member, it's also part of a group or class. A tiger, for example, is a member of the genus called Panthera, and it's also a member of the cat family. You're a member of the human species, and if you swim competitively, you're also a member of a swim team. The United States is a member, along with 192 other countries, of the United Nations. The Latin root of member is membrum, "part," and also "limb or part of the body."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Conservative Assembly Member Neil Garratt submitted a formal grievance against Polanski last month, suggesting he had breached the Nolan Principles and the GLA code of conduct during his time as a London assembly member.
From BBC • Jun. 18, 2026
Member Ose Akhile, a personal trainer, follows up with stretching and other warm-up exercises.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026
Member feedback is taken seriously, the Justices’ attorney said, and the fee supports ongoing preservation and care of the Greenbrier property.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
“We thank Chairman Ted Cruz and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell for their leadership and efforts to address the challenges facing college athletics,” Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement.
From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026
Since these speeches were in part rehearsal for when, as the local Member of the Legislative Assembly, Comrade Pillai would address thronging millions, there was something odd about their pitch and cadence.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.