fraternity

American  

[fruh-tur-ni-tee] / frəˈtɜr nɪ ti /

noun

fraternities plural

1. a local or national organization of male students, primarily for social purposes, usually with secret initiation and rites and a name composed of two or three Greek letters.

2. a group of persons associated by or as if by ties of brotherhood.

3. any group or class of persons having common purposes, interests, etc..

   the medical fraternity.

4. an organization of laymen for religious or charitable purposes; sodality.

5. the quality of being brotherly; brotherhood.

   liberty, equality, and fraternity.

6. the relation of a brother or between brothers.

---

fraternity British  

/ frəˈtɜːnɪtɪ /

noun

1. Gender-neutral form: community.  a body of people united in interests, aims, etc

   the teaching fraternity

2. brotherhood

3. a secret society joined by male students, usually functioning as a social club

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonfraternity
  noun
• interfraternity
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fraternities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fraternity

1300–50; Middle English fraternite < Latin frāternitās. See fraternal, -ity

Explanation

A fraternity is a group of people who work in the same industry or have similar careers. Your dad's fraternity of firefighters holds lots of charity events and get-togethers. Most often, a fraternity is a social club or group made up of men, but it can refer to any organization of people with something in common. At a college or university, a fraternity is a club for men that's by invitation only. Members of these frats, as they are called, often live together in one house and socialize primarily with each other. Fraternity comes from the Latin word fraternitas, meaning "brotherhood."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fraternity fraternities

Extracurriculars that “highlight team leadership, whether it’s in a sorority or fraternity, or the newspaper, certainly help us see that those individuals are motivated and are more likely to succeed,” she said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026

He plans to study at the library, join clubs and might rush a fraternity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

Donald Gibb, the actor who played the hulking fraternity bro Ogre in “Revenge of the Nerds” and Ray “Tiny” Jackson in “Bloodsport,” has died.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

"Nations have disagreements, and I think one of the ways that you work through those is... through fraternity and authentic dialogue," Burch told journalists.

From BBC ● May 5, 2026

Finally, he produces a term that denotes a coming together of both of those two things—to be countrymen is to experience romanitas as fellowship—and a fraternity between speaker and audience.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

In winning consecutive Masters — a feat not accomplished since Tiger Woods did it in 2002 — McIlroy joins Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods in one of golf’s most exclusive fraternities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026

Both Kalshi and Polymarket have flooded social media with ads and courted college fraternities and groups.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

When it comes to getting involved in elections, fraternities and sororities are in a bit of a tricky spot.

From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2024

Members of Black sororities and fraternities are no strangers to political engagement either, having built practices of civic engagement around addressing community-specific inequities.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2024

We’d gone to a step show and watched a bunch of guys from the Black fraternities compete for bragging rights as the best steppers on campus.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Related Words

• camaraderie
• guild
• sorority