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• member
  member

  noun

  a person, animal, plant, group, etc., that is part of a society, party, community, taxon, or other body.
• Member
  Member

  noun

  short for Member of Parliament

member

American  

[mem-ber] / ˈmɛm bər /

noun

• members
  plural

1. a person, animal, plant, group, etc., that is part of a society, party, community, taxon, or other body.

2. Government.

   1. a member of Congress, especially of the House of Representatives.

   2. a member of the British Parliament, especially of the House of Commons.

   3. any member of a legislative body.

3. a part or organ of an animal body; a limb, as a leg, arm, or wing.

4. Botany. a structural entity of a plant body.

5. the penis.

6. a constituent part of any structural or composite whole, as a subordinate architectural feature of a building.

   Synonyms:

   portion, element

7. Mathematics.

   1. either side of an equation.

   2. an element of a set.

8. Geology. a stratigraphic unit recognized within a formation, and mapped as such.

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adjective

1. being a member of or having membership in an association, organization, etc..

   member countries of the United Nations.

Member ¹ British  

/ ˈmɛmbə /

noun

1. short for Member of Parliament

2. short for Member of Congress

3. a member of some other legislative body

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member ² British  

/ ˈmɛmbə /

noun

1. a person who belongs to a club, political party, etc

2. any individual plant or animal in a taxonomic group

   a member of the species

3. any part of an animal body, such as a limb

4. another word for penis

5. any part of a plant, such as a petal, root, etc

6. maths any individual object belonging to a set or logical class

7. a distinct part of a whole, such as a proposition in a syllogism

8. a component part of a building or construction

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member Scientific  

/ mĕm′bər /

1. A quantity that belongs to a set.

2. The expression on either side of an equal sign.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• submember
  noun
• memberless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• members
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of member

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English membre, from Old French, from Latin membrum

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Explanation

If you're a member, you belong to a group or club. The late comedian Groucho Marx famously said, "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member." Go figure. When an object, like a plant or an element, is a member, it's also part of a group or class. A tiger, for example, is a member of the genus called Panthera, and it's also a member of the cat family. You're a member of the human species, and if you swim competitively, you're also a member of a swim team. The United States is a member, along with 192 other countries, of the United Nations. The Latin root of member is membrum, "part," and also "limb or part of the body."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

member Member members

A former journalist and member of the European Parliament, Iotova was elected vice-president alongside Radev in 2016 and 2021.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026

He posted pictures showing the ID card of a GSF member and a corresponding national ID card from Chad in Africa.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

The unnamed Saudi royal family member allegedly tried to recruit Alfozan for an AI initiative that was being launched in Saudi Arabia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

Zegan posted a video of people wading through Frontierland as a cast member tried to unclog a drain.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

“Howie was on this vacation thing for a few weeks,” says one member of his group, “and then he never came back.”

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

"None of these things can be taken in a vacuum," NDP Member of Parliament Heather McPherson told AFP.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Last week, ahead of Tuesday's vote, 133 women from the village wrote to every female Member of Parliament saying "life as we know it will be destroyed" if the plans succeed.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

To European leaders, Carney has even suggested Canada take on a new title: “Associate Member of the European Union.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

This is almost a third of more than 7,500 UK nationals ordered to leave the 27 EU Member States over this time period.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

At worst, I’d end up on the horns and expelled for Conduct Unbecoming a Member of the Arcanum.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

The Lincoln Media Foundation was started by leaders of the historic Lincoln Club, which was founded in 1962 and once counted John Wayne and former President Richard Nixon as members.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026

Community members described a wild edible mushroom called "Sedesdem" that could sometimes cause people to see miniature human figures.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

Four members of the board of trustees support him, as does the district’s faculty and staff unions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026

The first part of the parade was followed by a series of speeches, mainly from members of the Orange Order.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Corps members are divided by skill—writers, interpreters, and artists—and are told to develop messages that urge the town’s inhabitants to come down from the nearby hills and mountains where they have sought refuge.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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Related Words

• male sex organ
• penis
• phallus

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