Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for membership. Search instead for pseudo membership.
Synonyms

membership

American  
[mem-ber-ship] / ˈmɛm bərˌʃɪp /

noun

memberships plural
  1. the state of being a member, as of a society or club.

  2. the status of a member.

  3. the total number of members belonging to an organization, society, etc.


membership British  
/ ˈmɛmbəˌʃɪp /

noun

  1. the members of an organization collectively

  2. the state of being a member

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of membership

First recorded in 1640–50; member + -ship

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing membership

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:

Phillipson and Powell went head to head for the deputy leader position last year, after a race triggered by Angela Rayner's resignation, with Powell emerging victorious following 54% support from the party membership, external.

From BBC Jul. 28, 2026

The Chadian foreign minister's official Facebook page posted a statement last week saying the US had pressed the government in Niamey to reconsider its ICC membership.

From Barron's Jul. 27, 2026

Amex said it plans to invest further in its growth initiatives, including its ecosystem of membership credit cards that come with annual fees and a range of perks.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 24, 2026

There is no membership roll, no command hierarchy and no funding structure.

From Salon Jul. 23, 2026

Everyone extended his or her membership to the Garden.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Influencers list all the ways you can meet the spend, such as prepaying insurance, gym memberships and car repairs.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 29, 2026

Customs and Border Protection said “Global Entry or other CBP Trusted Traveler Program memberships are not revoked because someone exercises their First Amendment rights.”

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 24, 2026

They cancelled gym memberships and Sky TV and went through their finances to make sure they could cover their mortgage and bills on a lower income.

From BBC Jul. 23, 2026

Quintessentially, a global concierge firm whose U.S. memberships begin at $25,000 a year, has handled preschool applications, pet procurement and six-month family sabbaticals with traveling tutors.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 18, 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

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training