association
Americannoun
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an organization of people with a common purpose and having a formal structure.
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the act of associating or state of being associated.
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friendship; companionship.
Their close association did not last long.
- Synonyms:
- fellowship
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connection or combination.
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the connection or relation of ideas, feelings, sensations, etc.; correlation of elements of perception, reasoning, or the like.
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an idea, image, feeling, etc., suggested by or connected with something other than itself; an accompanying thought, emotion, or the like; an overtone or connotation.
My associations with that painting are of springlike days.
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Ecology. a group of plants of one or more species living together under uniform environmental conditions and having a uniform and distinctive aspect.
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Chemistry. a weak form of chemical bonding involving aggregation of molecules of the same compound.
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Astronomy. stellar association.
noun
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a group of people having a common purpose or interest; a society or club
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the act of associating or the state of being associated
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friendship or companionship
their association will not last
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a mental connection of ideas, feelings, or sensations
association of revolution with bloodshed
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psychol the mental process of linking ideas so that the recurrence of one idea automatically recalls the other See also free association
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chem the formation of groups of molecules and ions, esp in liquids, held together by weak chemical bonds
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ecology a group of similar plants that grow in a uniform environment and contain one or more dominant species
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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interassociationnoun
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nonassociationnoun
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reassociationnoun
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subassociationnoun
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associationaladjective
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nonassociationaladjective
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proassociationadjective
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pseudoassociationaladjective
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subassociationaladjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of association
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French, from Medieval Latin associātiōn-, stem of associātiō “accompaniment, unification”; equivalent to associate + -ion
Explanation
Association has to do with things that are together, whether in a formal group like the National Basketball Association or just two things that are related, like the association between dogs and parks. Any time people or things are connected, there are associations. The National Basketball Association is an example of the business meaning of association — a formal organization or group that works together. If you ask, "What is your association with Bill?" That just means, "How are you connected to Bill?" You can also make mental associations — you might make an association between the smell of fresh bread and your grandmother's kitchen, for example.
Vocabulary lists containing association
Working Together: The Language of Unions
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Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789)
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Catching Fire
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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:
This suggests that caffeine is probably not the only substance responsible for the association.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026
The association honored Secret Service agent Victor Gonzalez, who was shot in his protective vest while confronting the gunman, along with Washington Hilton employees who helped guests during the attack.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
Amin, who left the academy in 2015, has teamed up with the school's parent teacher association who will refer students to him.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
An association for private trade schools and career colleges is so concerned it has created a task force to reach out to students about the importance of loan repayment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
But none of them has any necessary association with geography.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
The cases are really being run by the associations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
She said Lehigh Acres has long contended with negative associations from the foreclosure crisis, but that it is steadily shedding that image as it draws aspiring homeowners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Most caffeine research is observational as well, which means it can identify associations but cannot establish cause and effect.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
If found guilty, the companies and trade associations could be fined up to 10% of their global annual turnover.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
As it turns out, for example, of the fifty thousand African Americans who have taken the Race IAT so far, about half of them, like me, have stronger associations with whites than with blacks.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
