communication

[kuh-myoo-ni-key-shuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR communication ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or process of communicating; fact of being communicated.

the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs.

something imparted, interchanged, or transmitted.

a document or message imparting news, views, information, etc.

passage, or an opportunity or means of passage, between places.

communications,

means of sending messages, orders, etc., including telephone, telegraph, radio, and television.
routes and transportation for moving troops and supplies from a base to an area of operations.

Biology.

activity by one organism that changes or has the potential to change the behavior of other organisms.
transfer of information from one cell or molecule to another, as by chemical or electrical signals.

Origin of communication

1375–1425; Middle English communicacioun < Middle French < Latin commūnicātiōn- (stem of commūnicātiō), equivalent to commūnicāt(us) (see communicate) + -iōn- -ion

Related formscom·mu·ni·ca·tion·al, adjectivenon·com·mu·ni·ca·tion, nouno·ver·com·mu·ni·ca·tion, nounpre·com·mu·ni·ca·tion, nounself-com·mu·ni·ca·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for communication

transmission, intelligence, delivery, conversation, connection, contact, link, information, elucidation, dissemination, talking, intercommunication, interchange, publication, intercourse, transfer, assertion, writing, communion, reading

Examples from the Web for communication

Contemporary Examples of communication

It would seek to cut off the main Allied lines of supply and communication.
Hitler’s Hail Mary
James A. Warren
December 20, 2014
Still, the lack of communication with the tribes does not bode well for the future relationships.
Tribes to U.S. Government: Take Your Weed and Shove It
Abby Haglage
December 13, 2014
Coltrane had another power, a power of self-regeneration that also has to do with that power of communication.
The Stacks: John Coltrane’s Mighty Musical Quest
Nat Hentoff
October 18, 2014
Advances in communication and social media have changed the way we interact with each other in a number of different ways.
Sexting Is the New ‘First Base’
Russell Saunders
October 9, 2014
Internet availability was “intermittent” and other forms of communication scarce.
$10,000 a Month for Ebola Fighters
Abby Haglage
October 7, 2014

Historical Examples of communication

Was his father still alive, or was this letter a communication from the dead?
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
Ambrose was the only person who ever received any communication from Giles Headley.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge
Polar ice would have been thawed by this reopening of communication.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
He did apply, and at the end of a month, no answer had been returned to his communication.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
And yet I know that you will not love my brother the better for my communication.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for communication

communication

noun

the act or an instance of communicating; the imparting or exchange of information, ideas, or feelings

something communicated, such as a message, letter, or telephone call

(usually plural; sometimes functioning as singular)the study of ways in which human beings communicate, including speech, gesture, telecommunication systems, publishing and broadcasting media, etc
(as modifier)communication theory

a connecting route, passage, or link

(plural) military the system of routes and facilities by which forces, supplies, etc, are moved up to or within an area of operations

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

Word Origin and History for communication

late 14c., from Old French comunicacion (14c., Modern French communication), from Latin communicationem (nominative communicatio), noun of action from past participle stem of communicare "to share, divide out; communicate, impart, inform; join, unite, participate in," literally "to make common," from communis (see common (adj.)).

communication in Medicine

communication

[kə-myōō′nĭ-kā′shən]

n.

The exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, writing, or behavior.

An opening or a connecting passage between two structures.

A joining or connecting of solid fibrous structures, such as tendons and nerves.