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• assembly
  assembly

  noun

  an assembling or coming together of a number of persons, usually for a particular purpose.
• Assembly
  Assembly

  noun

  the lower chamber in various American state legislatures See also House of Assembly legislative assembly National Assembly

assembly

American  

[uh-sem-blee] / əˈsɛm bli /

noun

• assemblies
  plural

1. an assembling or coming together of a number of persons, usually for a particular purpose.

   The principal will speak to all the students at Friday's assembly.

   Synonyms:

   meeting, congress, gathering, assemblage

2. a group of persons gathered together, usually for a particular purpose, whether religious, political, educational, or social.

   Synonyms:

   throng, meeting, congress, gathering, assemblage

3. (often initial capital letter) a legislative body, especially the lower house of the legislature in certain states of the U.S..

   a bill before the assembly; the New York State Assembly.

   Synonyms:

   congress

4. Military.

   1. a signal, as by drum or bugle, for troops to fall into ranks or otherwise assemble.

   2. the movement of forces, tanks, soldiers, etc., scattered by battle or battle drill, toward and into a small area.

5. the putting together of complex machinery, as airplanes, from interchangeable parts of standard dimensions.

6. Machinery. a group of machine parts, especially one forming a self-contained, independently mounted unit.

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assembly ¹ British  

/ əˈsɛmblɪ /

noun

1. a number of people gathered together, esp for a formal meeting held at regular intervals

2. the act of assembling or the state of being assembled

3. the process of putting together a number of parts to make a machine or other product

4. machinery a group of mating components before or after fitting together

5. military

   1. a signal for personnel to assemble, as by drum, bugle, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      an assembly area

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Assembly ² British  

/ əˈsɛmblɪ /

noun

1. the lower chamber in various American state legislatures See also House of Assembly legislative assembly National Assembly

2. short for General Assembly

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Usage

What does assembly mean? An assembly is a gathering of people, usually for some specific reason, as in The preacher gave a sermon before the assembly. Assembly is used to refer to a group of people who have gathered together. Usually, the people have a reason to come together such as for religious, political, or social purposes. Assembly can also refer to the gathering or coming together of people, as in The principal organized an assembly of all of the parents. Assembly can also refer to a legislative body in which politicians gather to perform the political process. In this case, assembly is often capitalized when it’s a part of the name of the body, as in The bill was discussed by the California State Assembly. Lastly, assembly can refer to the act of putting something together or fitting parts together, as in Jorge helped his granddaughter with the assembly of the model airplane. Assembly comes from the verb assemble, which usually means to gather things or people together, as in The players assembled into a group huddle. Example: The police chief spoke to an assembly of citizens concerned about theft in the neighborhood.

Synonym Usage

See convention.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preassembly
  noun
• reassembly
  noun
• self-assembly
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• assemblies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of assembly

1275–1325; Middle English assemblee < Middle French, literally, (that which is) assembled, feminine past participle of assembler to assemble

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Explanation

Use the noun assembly to refer group of people meeting up for a mutual purpose, such as a church service. Often used to describing a gathering of people, the word assembly can also refer to putting something together, such as a machine or a piece of furniture. No matter if the individual components are people or objects, assembly implies a bringing together. You may be familiar with the term "freedom of assembly," which is considered a basic human right. It means that people are free to peacefully gather together to protest the government, to worship, to hold a public meeting . . . or even to play poker. This allows people to exchange information and pursue mutual goals.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

assembly Assembly assemblies

The Chinese factories remain busy, he says, because a single toy can undergo more than one manufacturing process, from moulding the parts, to adding electronics, sewing materials, and final assembly.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

This could include co-investing in manufacturing or assembly facilities in Europe, partnering on strategic acquisitions or helping support MDA Space’s international growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Motions of no-confidence in the assembly are not binding even if a majority of MLAs vote in favour of them, and cannot automatically force a minister from office.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

BE Semiconductor Industries, the Dutch supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment, is down 8.2% following a stock rating downgrade from UBS.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

The school gathered for a final awards assembly.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville

Sarah Hopkins started teaching in 1998 - a year before the Welsh Assembly, now the Senedd, took over responsibility for education in Wales from Westminster.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Former California state Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg has been pounding the pavement, trying to encourage voters to support Proposition 37 on ballots statewide.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

“I know what it’s like to be on the front lines,” said Pan, who spent a dozen years teaching and practicing pediatrics before being elected to the Assembly in 2010.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

Pillay was later elected by the United Nations General Assembly to be a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where she served for eight years, including four years as president.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

I let Heather talk me into going to the Winter Assembly.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

A speech at the Pnyx, where Athenians once gathered for popular assemblies that birthed democracy, provided a perfect opportunity to link America First to ancient Greek statecraft.

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026

The study, published in Nature, examined 103 bat genomes, including 42 newly generated chromosome-level assemblies, covering all 21 recognized bat families.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

Reactor 2 was taken offline on August 4 for refuelling, during which 20 of the 121 fuel assemblies in the reactor core were replaced.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

A compelling model comes from the burgeoning global movement of citizens’ assemblies — deliberative bodies in which a randomly selected, representative cross-section of the public is convened to consider complex policy questions.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

"There's too much talking out of turn," Ralph said, "because we can't have proper assemblies if you don't stick to the rules."

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding

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