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• federation
  federation

  noun

  the act of federating or uniting in a league.
• Federation
  Federation

  noun

  the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901

federation

American  

[fed-uh-rey-shuhn] / ˌfɛd əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of federating or uniting in a league.

2. the formation of a political unity, with a central government, by a number of separate states, each of which retains control of its own internal affairs.

3. a league or confederacy.

4. a federated body formed by a number of nations, states, societies, unions, etc., each retaining control of its own internal affairs.

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federation ¹ British  

/ ˌfɛdəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of federating

2. the union of several provinces, states, etc, to form a federal union

3. a political unit formed in such a way

4. any league, alliance, or confederacy

5. a union of several parties, groups, etc

6. any association or union for common action

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Federation ² British  

/ ˌfɛdəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901

2. a style of domestic architecture of that period, characterized by red brick, terracotta roof tiles, sinuous curves, and heavy window frames

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Other Word Forms

• interfederation
  noun
• profederation
  adjective
• refederation
  noun

Etymology

Origin of federation

1715–25; < Late Latin foederātiōn- (stem of foederātiō ) a leaguing. See federate, -ion

Explanation

A federation is an organization made up of smaller groups, parties, or states. The United States is a federation; the states all fall under the same federal government. The word federation may be most familiar as part of the name of an organization — for example, the International Tennis Federation, the American Advertising Federation, or the National Wild Turkey Federation. If you follow World Cup soccer, you may be interested to learn that the acronym FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Although the groups within a federation are united around a common goal or ideology, they usually like to keep some control at the local level as well.

Example Sentences

The federation of unions later repeated those tactics and encouraged reform, including stricter rules requiring the disclosure of foreign entities in U.S. markets doing business with nations facing U.S. sanctions.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

Soccer Federation is being allocated about 500 of those tickets per U.S. game, a federation spokeswoman said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026

As and when the Iran war ends, the seven emirates comprising the federation will have significant refunding commitments to rebuild the damage on their economies caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026

Food inflation is now expected to reach 9% to 10% by the end of the year, up from 3.2%, the federation said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

The alliance could then manage Indigenous lands as a federation.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Related Words

• association
• league
• union