fraternity
Americannoun
plural
fraternities-
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.
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a group of persons associated by or as if by ties of brotherhood.
-
any group or class of persons having common purposes, interests, etc..
the medical fraternity.
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an organization of laymen for religious or charitable purposes; sodality.
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the quality of being brotherly; brotherhood.
liberty, equality, and fraternity.
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the relation of a brother or between brothers.
noun
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Gender-neutral form: community. a body of people united in interests, aims, etc
the teaching fraternity
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brotherhood
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a secret society joined by male students, usually functioning as a social club
Other Word Forms
- interfraternity adjective
- nonfraternity noun
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."
Vocabulary lists containing fraternity
Anthem
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The Catcher in the Rye
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their next-door neighbors are three Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity brothers developing AI that helps insurance companies sell more policies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
Does he socialise much with the mysterious moss fraternity?
From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026
One fraternity brother said in an interview his winnings would help pay for spring break.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
The fraternity attracts the children of the very wealthy, including Evan Whitesell, the stepson of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
That their fraternity engaged in quasi-religious chanting and oath taking and hosanna hailing, all of it top secret, made it that much more appealing.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
