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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-ray-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

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Etymology

Origin of federation

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

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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

In June, France's main employer federation, Medef, said re-opening the facility was a question of national sovereignty.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

The French retail federation estimated losses running into hundreds of millions of dollars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Her organization launched in 2024 as a federation of local tenant unions across the country.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

Randolph mentions eastern Mali, Togo, Guinea-Bissau and Burkina Faso but Benin, situated between Nigeria and Togo, is of particular interest for the way the country has invested federation grants in football infrastructure and pitches.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

The federation president gave Bobby a deed for more than an acre of land in Elista, his capital city.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Halloween spending is expected to reach $13.5 billion this year, according to the National Retail Federation, with $4.1 billion alone being spent on candy.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

The National Retail Federation forecast retail sales will grow 4.2% from last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

To supply sufficient habitat, the conservation-focused National Wildlife Federation recommends a minimum goal of 70% native plants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

“In a low-hiring environment, you are going to see fewer people quitting,” said Mark Mathews, chief economist at the National Retail Federation.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

Guthmundur Thorarinsson privately complained—but not to Bobby—that the Icelandic Chess Federation had lost $50,000 on the match, because there was no money from television or film rights.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

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

The national federations of Serbia, Sweden and Wales on Monday withdrew their support for Infantino and England’s FA is expected to do the ‌same.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 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

The paper refers to pressure on the FA after "England's governing body joined the Prime Minister and three other federations in criticising the plan".

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

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

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

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Related Words

• association
• league
• union

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