building society

British

noun

a cooperative organization that accepts deposits of money from savers and uses them to make loans, secured by mortgages, to house buyers. Since 1986 they have been empowered to offer banking services

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Bucking the trend of banks shutting stores, Nationwide, the UK's biggest building society, has pledged to keep all of its remaining 696 branches open until at least 2030.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

Customers with bank accounts in the UK will see a significant increase in the amount of money that is protected if their bank or building society collapses.

From BBC • Nov. 17, 2025

The UK's biggest building society, the Nationwide, has pledged to keep all of its 696 branches open until at least 2030.

From BBC • Nov. 11, 2025

Veronica Lewis says that the banking hub is "brilliant", but that she can't come with her husband as he is with Nationwide, a building society which is not included in the hub model.

From BBC • Oct. 23, 2025

God forgive me," said Arthur, "I've lied about you to Sir Walter like the secretary of a building society to a maiden lady with two thousand pounds.

From The City in the Clouds by Gull, C. Ranger

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023