membership
Americannoun
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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
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.
Meanwhile, progress in Ukraine’s long quest for EU membership has been slow.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
A Nato official told the BBC that the organisation's founding treaty "does not foresee any provision for suspension of Nato membership, or expulsion".
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
The American Association of Individual Investors also posted a big uptick in bullish sentiment from its membership this week, with some 46% of respondents signaling stocks are likely to rise over the next six months.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
The higher pricing was partially offset by membership declines, as the number of seniors served through Medicare Advantage dropped by 965,000 during the quarter.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026
The very next day, Mrs. Soren collected all the buttons, gathered up all the membership cards, and even replaced Jessie's Writers' Workshop folder.
From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies
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.
