party

American  

[pahr-tee] / ˈpɑr ti /

noun

• parties
  plural

1. a social gathering, as of invited guests at a private home, for conversation, refreshments, entertainment, etc..

   a cocktail party.

   Synonyms:

   assemblage, meeting

2. a group gathered for a special purpose or task.

   a fishing party; a search party.

3. a detachment, squad, or detail of troops assigned to perform some particular mission or service.

4. a group of persons with common purposes or opinions who support one side of a dispute, question, debate, etc.

   Synonyms:

   ring, coterie, circle, faction

5. a group of persons with common political opinions and purposes organized for gaining political influence and governmental control and for directing government policy.

   the Republican Party; the Democratic Party.

6. the system of taking sides on public or political questions or the like.

7. attachment or devotion to one side or faction; partisanship.

   to put considerations of party first.

8. Law.

   1. one of the litigants in a legal proceeding; a plaintiff or defendant in a suit.

   2. a signatory to a legal instrument.

   3. a person participating in or otherwise privy to a crime.

9. a person or group that participates in some action, affair, plan, etc.; participant.

   He was a party to the merger deal.

10. the person under consideration; a specific individual.

    The package was delivered to the wrong party.

11. a person or, usually, two or more persons together patronizing a restaurant, attending a social or cultural function, etc..

    The headwaiter asked how many were in our party; a party of 12 French physicists touring the labs; a party of one at the small table.

12. a person participating in a telephone conversation.

    I have your party on the line.

13. any occasion or activity likened to a social party, as specified; session.

    The couple in the next apartment are having their usual dish-throwing party.

14. something lively, stimulating, or bustling: That plastic water bottle is a germ party.

    It’s so delicious, it’s like a party in your mouth.

    That plastic water bottle is a germ party.

15. an advantageous or pleasurable situation or combination of circumstances of some duration and often of questionable character; period of content, license, exemption, etc..

    The police broke in and suddenly the party was over for the nation's most notorious gunman.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a party or faction; partisan.

   party leaders.

2. of or for a social gathering.

   her new party dress.

3. being shared by or pertaining to two or more persons or things.

4. Heraldry. (of an escutcheon) having the field divided into a number of parts, usually two; parted.

verb (used without object)

Informal.

• parties,
  present (3rd person singular)
• partied,
  past participle,  past
• partying
  present participle

1. to go to or give parties, especially a series of parties.

2. to enjoy oneself thoroughly and without restraint; indulge in pleasure.

party British  

/ ˈpɑːtɪ /

noun

1. 1. a social gathering for pleasure, often held as a celebration

   2. ( as modifier )

      party spirit

   3. ( in combination )

      partygoer

2. a group of people associated in some activity

   a rescue party

3. 1. (often capital) a group of people organized together to further a common political aim, such as the election of its candidates to public office

   2. ( as modifier )

      party politics

4. the practice of taking sides on public issues

5. a person, esp one who participates in some activity such as entering into a contract

6. the person or persons taking part in legal proceedings, such as plaintiff or prosecutor

   a party to the action

7. informal a person

   he's an odd old party

8. to take part or become involved

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verb

1. informal to celebrate; revel

adjective

1. heraldry (of a shield) divided vertically into two colours, metals, or furs

party Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing party

• life of the party

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Usage

Party meaning “a specific individual” is old in the language, going back to the 15th century, and was formerly in common use. Today, it remains standard in limited senses, chiefly the legal, and is often used humorously or condescendingly: the party holding the balloon. The word person is the neutral and common term.

Synonym Usage

See company.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subparty
  noun
• interparty
  adjective
• nonparty
  adjective
• partyless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• parties
  plural

Participles

• partying
  present
• partied
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• party
  simple
• parties
  simple
• have partied
  perfect
• has partied
  perfect
• am partying
  progressive
• are partying
  progressive
• is partying
  progressive
• have been partying
  perfect progressive
• has been partying
  perfect progressive

Past

• partied
  simple
• had partied
  perfect
• was partying
  progressive
• were partying
  progressive
• had been partying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will party
  simple
• will have partied
  perfect
• will be partying
  progressive
• will have been partying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of party

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English partie, paarty, from Old French, noun use of feminine of parti, past participle of partir “to divide, separate, go away,” from Latin partīre “to share, divide”; see part

Explanation

If you have a party, you invite people who will likely get along and like each other. If you join a political party, you choose the one whose members share your views. Party comes from part, which means "a division in the whole." You can see this in political parties: the groups that make up the whole of voters in a nation. Party also means "person or group," which we are reminded of at restaurants when asked, "How many are in your party?" This is how party as in "a social gathering" or as a verb — the act of enjoying yourself at such a gathering — came about.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

party parties partied partying

But another young Reform enthusiast rejected that, telling me: "It's all documented and there on camera – Nigel has to be more careful about what party members say."

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

Such “related party transactions” are legal, within limits, but are required to be reported to guard against conflicts of interest and to protect clients.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

This marks the second consecutive time Old Man Markey has fended off a former rising star in the party, having tanked Joe Kennedy III’s challenge in 2020.

From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026

Their control of ingredients, equipment and the production line became one of the company’s secret weapons: Because they are gluten-free and made in a peanut-free space, JonnyPops can be served at every birthday party.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

"If we wish to bid the Mountain party farewell with the rest of the village, we must go soon," she said.

From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda

"I've obviously done a super-deep dive into rave culture and watched loads of rave footage from all these little free parties where they would find an empty field," he says.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

I read something yesterday where you should go to your own parties like you’re a guest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

Under electoral law, donors to UK political parties must be a UK registered voter, or a company registered in the UK, so cannot give money from abroad through a British resident.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

“What aligns them is a sense of disruption and optimism that they will be able to change the way politics are done in a way the other parties can’t.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

She’d gone to a handful of parties there not long after her first death, when she was always ravenous and East Tenth Street was “uptown.”

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

They lived in makeshift apartments and partied in retrofitted warehouses.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

While Madonna partied in Corfu, singer Bieber took his family to the Peloponnese.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Even connections to the Club Chemistry nightclub – where 11 out of the first 15 affected had partied – do not give a complete picture.

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026

“I never realized researchers partied so hard,” Ramaswami said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025

When the book was finished, he and a group of friends hiked to the top and partied there till dawn.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

The paper reports the catalyst for his sobriety was the reunion tour; it says he told the documentary the experience was too "precious" to spoil by partying.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

"Microglia are immune cells that, when they respond to plaques, kick off this elaborate cascade of inflammation, as if the microglia are partying all night, and keeping the brain awake."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026

This new sobriety probably takes some of the fizz out of what the sociologist Emile Durkheim called the “collective effervescence” that revelers feel while partying together in large groups.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

But the limits of Hollywood’s imagination squeeze Supergirl to stop partying and start doing some regular old rescuing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

But instead of partying, he was walking his children to the Arab supermarket on Roosevelt Avenue to buy packages of chicken and spare ribs, and hoping to get to use the kitchen.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Related Words

• association
• bloc
• body
• faction
• side
• union