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• federation
  federation

  noun

  the act of federating or uniting in a league.
• Federation
  Federation

  noun

  the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901

federation

American  

[fed-uh-rey-shuhn] / ˌfɛd əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

• federations
  plural

1. the act of federating or uniting in a league.

2. the formation of a political unity, with a central government, by a number of separate states, each of which retains control of its own internal affairs.

3. a league or confederacy.

4. a federated body formed by a number of nations, states, societies, unions, etc., each retaining control of its own internal affairs.

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federation ¹ British  

/ ˌfɛdəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of federating

2. the union of several provinces, states, etc, to form a federal union

3. a political unit formed in such a way

4. any league, alliance, or confederacy

5. a union of several parties, groups, etc

6. any association or union for common action

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Federation ² British  

/ ˌfɛdəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901

2. a style of domestic architecture of that period, characterized by red brick, terracotta roof tiles, sinuous curves, and heavy window frames

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interfederation
  noun
• refederation
  noun
• profederation
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• federations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of federation

1715–25; < Late Latin foederātiōn- (stem of foederātiō ) a leaguing. See federate, -ion

Explanation

A federation is an organization made up of smaller groups, parties, or states. The United States is a federation; the states all fall under the same federal government. The word federation may be most familiar as part of the name of an organization — for example, the International Tennis Federation, the American Advertising Federation, or the National Wild Turkey Federation. If you follow World Cup soccer, you may be interested to learn that the acronym FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Although the groups within a federation are united around a common goal or ideology, they usually like to keep some control at the local level as well.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

federation Federation federations

The petition was started by TVP federation chair Aileen O'Connor who said the decision to consider the killers for early release "pours salt into wounds that have never healed".

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Last week, he traveled to South America, where the federation leaders reaffirmed that they stood behind him—even as revelations about Infantino’s personal life began to surface in the British press.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Russia's athletics federation said an all-Russian competition in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg had been halted over drone threats.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

Spain had just been knocked out of the World Cup by Morocco in the last 16 in Qatar and the federation needed a replacement after Luis Enrique left his role.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

The alliance could then manage Indigenous lands as a federation.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said preparations were underway to bring aid to some 2,000 people in temporary shelters.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

The National Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday that its small-business optimism index rose to 99.8, its highest level since August 2025.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Philippe Besset, president of France's Federation of Pharmaceutical Trade Unions, said demand had been far greater than expected.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Tiffany Lynch, chair of the National Police Federation of England and Wales, said that for rank and file officers up and down the country it "feels personal" – "there is disgust, upset".

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

Whenever World Wrestling Federation with Hulk Hogan came on, or The A-Team with Mr. T, people would cram into his living room and gather around his house, trying to watch through his window.

From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda

Meanwhile, Infantino has spent recent days reposting new letters on his Instagram from federations doubling down on their support for him, including Morocco, Qatar, Kuwait, the U.A.E.,

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Sign on, the federations were told, and you’ll get $20 million.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

For that to happen, the criticism from federations across the world must continue.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

"From my perspective, any avenue that brings in more resources is good because those resources would be distributed and given to federations, especially on the African continent and that would inspire growth."

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Eventually, internecine warfare erupted between the United States and Soviet Chess federations and FIDE.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• association
• league
• union