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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 federation confirmed he was suspended from his role "due to an ongoing police investigation" in a statement issued days after the arrests.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

For a football federation facing chronic funding constraints and enormous infrastructure needs, Infantino's proposed plans would have been difficult to dismiss.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Just as importantly, for the long-term development of the federation, there will be youth World Cups and another home tournament: the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

The French soccer federation first contacted him in early 2025, knowing that Deschamps would leave his post after this summer’s World Cup in North America.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 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

Union leaders know the investment process: Teacher trustees on the retirement board have close ties to the United Federation of Teachers, AFT’s New York affiliate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

The Federation of Astronomical Societies has about 200 affiliated members and a searchable list, external on its website.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The 10-year deal was announced Thursday by the California Interscholastic Federation, which is the governing body for high school sports in the state.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 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

The Solar Federation was controlled by a group of “priests,” who are described in Part II of the song, titled “The Temples of Syrinx.”

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Support is turning against him from federations around the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 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

With resources limited, a situation not helped by the widely reported corruption scandals within several international federations in Cameroon, attending international competitions was extremely challenging.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 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