group

[ groop ]

/ grup /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR group ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any collection or assemblage of persons or things; cluster; aggregation: a group of protesters; a remarkable group of paintings.

a number of persons or things ranged or considered together as being related in some way.

Also called radical. Chemistry. two or more atoms specifically arranged, as the hydroxyl group, –OH.Compare free radical.

Linguistics.

(in the classification of related languages within a family) a category of a lower order than a subbranch and of a higher order than a subgroup: the Low German group of West Germanic languages.
any grouping of languages, whether it is made on the basis of geography, genetic relationship, or something else.

Geology. a division of stratified rocks comprising two or more formations.

Military.

Army. a flexible administrative and tactical unit consisting of two or more battalions and a headquarters.
Air Force. an administrative and operational unit subordinate to a wing, usually composed of two or more squadrons.

Music. a section of an orchestra comprising the instruments of the same class.

Art. a number of figures or objects shown in an arrangement together.

Mathematics. an algebraic system that is closed under an associative operation, as multiplication or addition, and in which there is an identity element that, on operating on another element, leaves the second element unchanged, and in which each element has corresponding to it a unique element that, on operating on the first, results in the identity element.

Grammar (chiefly British ). a phrase: nominal group; verbal group.

verb (used with object)

to place or associate together in a group, as with others.

to arrange in or form into a group or groups.

verb (used without object)

to form a group.

to be part of a group.

Nearby words

groundswell, groundwater, groundwood, groundwood pulp, groundwork, group, group a streptococcus, group agglutination, group agglutinin, group annuity, group antigen

Origin of group

1665–75; < French groupe < Italian gruppo ≪ Germanic

SYNONYMS FOR group

12 order, organize, classify, combine.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR group ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

group·wise, adverbsu·per·group, nounun·grouped, adjective

Usage note

1, 2. See collective noun.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for group

Before anti-vaxxers, there were anti-fluoriders: a group who spread fear about the anti-tooth decay agent added to drinking water.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Asian-Americans are a group of persuadable swing voters, growing faster than any other group in America today.
Asian-Americans Are The New Florida|Tim Mak|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yet only 24 percent of the 3,892 femicides the group identified in 2012 and 2013 were looked at by authorities.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting|Ruben Navarrette Jr.|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Though tissues are present and tears are not uncommon, the Dinner Parties are distinctly not grief counseling or group therapy.
Everyone at This Dinner Party Has Lost Someone|Samantha Levine|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Faal told the FBI that his group was trying “restore democracy to The Gambia and improve the lives of its people.”
The Shadowy U.S. Veteran Who Tried to Overthrow a Country|Jacob Siegel|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Jest like a hornet's nest: shake a stick at ary one o' the group, an' they all come buzzin' round te'ble miffy in less 'n no time.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 85, November, 1864|Various
He then bent his eye sternly upon the group of bailiffs, especially upon the rude ruffian, Grimes, whose conduct was so atrocious.
Valentine M'Clutchy, The Irish Agent|William Carleton
The group is composed of an American Hunter, in the act of seizing an Indian who was about to tomahawk a mother and her infant.
The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 2, September, 1851|Various
This group contains the true crabs, which are the highest of the Crustacea.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide|Augusta Foote Arnold
Out of the darkness between the group of buildings appeared two men, Crissey and Addison.
Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls|Edith Van Dyne (AKA L. Frank Baum)

British Dictionary definitions for group

group

/ (ɡruːp) /

noun

a number of persons or things considered as a collective unit

a number of persons bound together by common social standards, interests, etc
(as modifier)group behaviour

a small band of players or singers, esp of pop music

a number of animals or plants considered as a unit because of common characteristics, habits, etc

grammar another word, esp in systemic grammar, for phrase (def. 1)

an association of companies under a single ownership and control, consisting of a holding company, subsidiary companies, and sometimes associated companies

two or more figures or objects forming a design or unit in a design, in a painting or sculpture

a military formation comprising complementary arms and services, usually for a purposea brigade group

an air force organization of higher level than a squadron

Also called: radical chem two or more atoms that are bound together in a molecule and behave as a single unita methyl group -CH 3 Compare free radical

a vertical column of elements in the periodic table that all have similar electronic structures, properties, and valenciesCompare period (def. 8)

geology any stratigraphical unit, esp the unit for two or more formations

maths a set that has an associated operation that combines any two members of the set to give another member and that also contains an identity element and an inverse for each element

See blood group

verb

to arrange or place (things, people, etc) in or into a group or (of things, etc) to form into a group

Word Origin for group

C17: from French groupe, of Germanic origin; compare Italian gruppo; see crop

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for group

group

[ grōōp ]

n.

An assemblage of persons or objects gathered or located together; an aggregation.

A class or collection of related objects or entities.

Two or more atoms that behave or that are regarded as behaving as a single chemical unit.

v.

To place or arrange in a group.

To belong to or form a group.

Science definitions for group

group

[ grōōp ]

Chemistry

Two or more atoms that are bound together and act as a unit in a number of chemical compounds, such as a hydroxyl (OH) group.
In the Periodic Table, a vertical column that contains elements having the same number of electrons in the outermost shell of their atoms. Elements in the same group have similar chemical properties. See Periodic Table.

Mathematics A set with an operation whose domain is all ordered pairs of members of the set, such that the operation is binary (operates on two elements) and associative, the set contains the identity element of the operation, and each element of the set has an inverse element for the operation. The positive and negative integers and zero form a set that is a group under the operation of ordinary addition, since zero is the identity element of addition and the negative of each integer is its inverse. Groups are used extensively in quantum physics and chemistry to model phenomena involving symmetry and invariance.