building society

British

noun

a cooperative organization that accepts deposits of money from savers and uses them to make loans, secured by mortgages, to house buyers. Since 1986 they have been empowered to offer banking services

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

However, late last year, the UK's biggest building society, the Nationwide, pledged to keep all of its 696 branches open until at least 2030, although it too has closed branches in the past.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026

Last year, a Nationwide advert featuring actor Dominic West that claimed the building society was not closing branches was banned.

From BBC • Nov. 11, 2025

The building society said house prices rose by 0.5% in May, following a slight drop in April.

From BBC • Jun. 2, 2025

A proposed change to banking rules will increase significantly the amount of savers' money that is protected when a bank or building society goes under.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2025

In the course of a short time he had a respectable balance to his credit; and this induced him to take a share in a building society, and then a second share.

From Thrift by Smiles, Samuel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023