organization

American  

[awr-guh-nuh-zey-shuhn] / ˌɔr gə nəˈzeɪ ʃən /

especially British, organisation

noun

1. the act or process of organizing.

2. the state or manner of being organized.

3. something that is organized.

4. organic structure; composition.

   The organization of this painting is quite remarkable.

5. a group of persons organized for some end or work; association.

   a nonprofit organization.

6. the administrative personnel or apparatus of a business.

7. the functionaries of a political party along with the offices, committees, etc., that they fill.

8. an organism.

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adjective

1. of or relating to an organization.

2. Informal. conforming entirely to the standards, rules, or demands of an organization, especially that of one's employer.

   an organization mentality.

organization British  

/ ˌɔːɡənaɪˈzeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of organizing or the state of being organized

2. an organized structure or whole

3. a business or administrative concern united and constructed for a particular end

4. a body of administrative officials, as of a political party, a government department, etc

5. order or system; method

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Other Word Forms

• antiorganization noun
• misorganization noun
• nonorganization noun
• organizational adjective
• organizationally adverb
• preorganization noun
• suborganization noun
• superorganization noun
• underorganization noun

Etymology

Origin of organization

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English organizacion, from Medieval Latin organizātiōn-, stem of organizātiō, equivalent to organizāt(us) “arranged” (past participle of organizāre “to contrive, arrange”; organize ) + -iō -ion

Explanation

An organization is a group of people who work together, like a neighborhood association, a charity, a union, or a corporation. You can use the word organization to refer to group or business, or to the act of forming or establishing something. It can also refer to a structure for classifying things or to a system of arrangement or order. When your English teacher tells you you need to work on the organization of your essay, she's using this last meaning. This word derives from an Old French verb meaning "to combine into an orderly whole."

Example Sentences

President Franklin D. Roosevelt acknowledged this in 1945, when he appointed Dulles as a delegate to the San Francisco Conference on international organization, which helped establish the United Nations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Since moving into government, Honey has maintained close ties to Mitchell’s organization, and she and at least two other federal officials have given its members private briefings.

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026

This organization helps ensure that mtDNA is reliably passed on when cells divide and that its genes are expressed evenly throughout the mitochondria.

From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026

“Jonathan is a special person and player, and the entire Rangers organization wishes him — along with his wife, Jackie, and three children, Madison, Carter and Cash — all the best in retirement.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

The system described how to categorize living things on the earth, but did not ascribe an underlying logic to its organization.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• association
• body
• business
• circle
• club
• company
• consortium
• cooperative
• corporation
• establishment
• federation
• industry
• institute
• institution
• league
• party
• society
• team
• union