association
Americannoun
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associations
plural
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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:
French regions are responsible for maintaining some 3,700 high school buildings, with their representative association insisting they have "invested heavily" in recent years.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
"He's a brilliant football man who truly understands football development because he's been running it," claimed one senior official at a European national association.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
These limitations mean that other factors could help explain the association.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
Kevin Mannix worked out of the San Francisco Police Department’s Taraval Station for 27 years before retiring, according to the association in June 2018.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
The tests we took were designed to determine our eligibility for Mensa, an international association for those with IQs of 132 or higher.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Sounding alarms about driverless trucks are some drivers’ associations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
Several medical groups - including the national associations for doctors and nurses - also ban their members from participating in executions.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
The researchers also examined whether lifestyle could alter these associations.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
This seemingly bizarre choice soon comes to feel entirely natural, invoking associations with Ireland as a place of verbal, theatrical and musical creativity under duress from another power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Or was it a problem with the associations people had with margarine?
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
