membership
Americannoun
-
memberships
plural
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the state of being a member, as of a society or club.
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the status of a member.
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the total number of members belonging to an organization, society, etc.
noun
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the members of an organization collectively
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the state of being a member
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of membership
Explanation
Use the noun membership to describe the people who together make up a group or organization. Your secret childhood club may have had a membership consisting only of you, your brother, and your best friend. Any official group has a membership, the people who belong to it. Your high school French club has a membership, and so does the United States Congress. You can also use the word to mean "the fact of being a member," like when you brag about your membership in Mensa, the organization for people with extremely high intelligence. The root of membership is the Latin word for body part or limb, membrum.
Vocabulary lists containing membership
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ship
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"The MGMT Solution," Vocabulary from Chapter 10
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-ship
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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.
See Examples For:
The group offers membership to anyone for free.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
In 1962, a full 17 percent of the membership was reported to be federal informants.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
In the end, "associate membership" is just a label.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Full EU membership is off the table, but the two sides are discussing deeper cooperation on defense, energy, AI and digital rules, along with certain types of mutual visa-free travel and work arrangements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
I valued my membership in that group and received adult approval daily.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
Netflix reported 89.6 million memberships in the U.S. and Canada at the end of 2024, the last time it broke out regional numbers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Depending on your situation, this could mean canceling high-priced memberships or unnecessary subscriptions — or making bigger moves, like selling a second car or downsizing your home.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Many discounts involve pairing up - 2-for-1 cinema tickets, Two-Together railcards, couples gym memberships - plus solo travellers often pay a single person supplement.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Annual memberships range from $1,250 to $4,850, with additional fees per flight for private suites or communal lounges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Chess clubs everywhere saw memberships swell; during the match, the Marshall Chess Club’s roster doubled to six hundred, and the United States Chess Federation added tens of thousands to the fold.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
