syndicate
Americannoun
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syndicates
plural
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a group of individuals or organizations combined or making a joint effort to undertake some specific duty or carry out specific transactions or negotiations.
The local furniture store is individually owned, but is part of a buying syndicate.
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a combination of bankers or capitalists formed for the purpose of carrying out some project requiring large resources of capital, as the underwriting of an issue of stock or bonds.
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Journalism.
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an agency that buys articles, stories, columns, photographs, comic strips, or other features and distributes them for simultaneous publication in a number of newspapers or periodicals.
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a business organization owning and operating a number of newspapers; newspaper chain.
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a group, combination, or association of gangsters controlling organized crime or one type of crime, especially in one region of the country.
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a council or body of syndics.
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a local organization of employers or employees in Italy during the Fascist regime.
verb (used with object)
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syndicates,
present (3rd person singular)
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syndicated,
past participle, past
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syndicating
present participle
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to combine into a syndicate.
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to publish simultaneously, or supply for simultaneous publication, in a number of newspapers or other periodicals.
Her column is syndicated in 120 papers.
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Television. to sell (a program, series, etc.) directly to independent stations.
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to sell shares in or offer participation in the financial sharing of (a risk venture, loan, or the like).
to syndicate a racehorse among speculators;
to syndicate a loan among several banks.
verb (used without object)
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syndicates,
present (3rd person singular)
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syndicated,
past participle, past
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syndicating
present participle
noun
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an association of business enterprises or individuals organized to undertake a joint project requiring considerable capital
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a news agency that sells articles, photographs, etc, to a number of newspapers for simultaneous publication
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any association formed to carry out an enterprise or enterprises of common interest to its members
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a board of syndics or the office of syndic
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(in Italy under the Fascists) a local organization of employers or employees
verb
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(tr) to sell (articles, photographs, etc) to several newspapers for simultaneous publication
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(tr) to sell (a programme or programmes) to several local commercial television or radio stations
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to form a syndicate of (people)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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syndicatesimple
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syndicatessimple
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have syndicatedperfect
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has syndicatedperfect
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am syndicatingprogressive
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are syndicatingprogressive
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is syndicatingprogressive
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have been syndicatingperfect progressive
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has been syndicatingperfect progressive
Past
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syndicatedsimple
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had syndicatedperfect
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was syndicatingprogressive
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were syndicatingprogressive
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had been syndicatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of syndicate
First recorded in 1600–10; from Middle French syndicat “office of syndic, board of syndics,” from Medieval Latin syndicātus, equivalent to syndic + -ate 3 ( def. )
Explanation
A syndicate is a group of corporations working for a common interest. A syndicate might collectively raise money for a real estate project. A syndicate sometimes has a criminal side — it can also describe a similar alliance of gangsters. Syndicate entered English in the 17th century from the French word syndicat, meaning "representative of a corporation." The Lloyd's of London insurance group is an early example of a syndicate. Syndicate can also describe an agency that sells the rights to copyrighted material, such as feature articles, to newspapers or magazines. The word has a verb form as well. If you work for a syndicate, you might syndicate the classic "Peanuts" cartoon strip in hundreds of newspapers around the world.
Vocabulary lists containing syndicate
Working Together: The Language of Unions
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"An Inside Look at Editorial Cartoons"
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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.
See Examples For:
Details of how to run the syndicate were left to its members — insurers licensed to operate in California who would share in the plan’s profits and losses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
The family syndicate matched five main numbers and the Bonus Ball in the lottery draw on 24 June.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Under the deal, supply-chain management firm Procura will receive funding through a bank syndicate led by JPMorgan Chase and Santander.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
A dual Logoman Kobe-Jordan autographed card that my syndicate bought for $12.93 million last August is now worth $21 million.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
As part of its commitment, the syndicate went ahead and built a college for the Methodists.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
The United Nations Security Council voted on Tuesday to extend by six months the work of the gang suppression force deployed to combat violent criminal syndicates ravaging Haiti.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
Authorities are also investigating whether foreign syndicates were involved in a recent cyberattack on the Sri Lankan treasury that resulted in around $2.5 million in losses.
From Barron's ● May 17, 2026
Today, it serves as a microcosm of the country’s takeover by cybercrime syndicates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
So, the syndicates switched to online fraud instead, luring young workers from around the world with attractive salary offers.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026
A. Very often we take the head of syndicates.
From Readings in Money and Banking Selected and Adapted by Chester Arthur Phillips
I never saw the song performed live, but everyone knew about it because R.E.M. played it at a 1984 show in Seattle that was recorded for a syndicated radio show called “The Source.”
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
Sheindlin will also produce her son’s syndicated court TV show, “Adam’s Law,” which debuts Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
Ms. Parton first came to the attention of regional TV audiences in 1967 on the syndicated “Porter Wagoner Show,” and she signed with RCA later that year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
By 1967, at age 21, she was among the most recognized figures in American music, having joined Porter Wagoner's syndicated country music television show that broadcast her voice and face into millions of US homes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
The next day, Mrs. Roosevelt announced her resignation in her nationally syndicated newspaper column, focusing worldwide attention on the controversy.
From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman
Those concentration limits emerged as an obstacle when a group of banks were syndicating some of the loans in late 2025 and early 2026, the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
The government adopted “financial interest and syndication,” or “fin-syn,” rules in the 1970s, preventing broadcasters from syndicating their own content and owning perpetual financial interest in their shows.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 12, 2025
Alexander said the investment bank is looking to encourage private investments in its green projects through equity, providing guarantees on equity investments and syndicating loans from financiers.
From Reuters ● Nov. 5, 2021
But syndicating the article to a new URL seems to have completely evaded those restrictions, allowing the post to travel widely on Facebook.
From The Verge ● Jun. 5, 2020
The syndicates that supply newspapers with various kinds of material, including special feature stories, are operated on the same principle that governs the syndicating of articles by the writer himself.
From How To Write Special Feature Articles A Handbook for Reporters, Correspondents and Free-Lance Writers Who Desire to Contribute to Popular Magazines and Magazine Sections of Newspapers by Willard Grosvenor Bleyer
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