relationship

American  

[ri-ley-shuhn-ship] / rɪˈleɪ ʃənˌʃɪp /

noun

1. a connection, association, or involvement.

   Synonyms:

   kinship, alliance, dependence

2. connection between persons by blood or marriage.

   Synonyms:

   consanguinity, affinity

3. an emotional or other connection between people.

   the relationship between teachers and students.

4. a sexual involvement; affair.

---

relationship British  

/ rɪˈleɪʃənʃɪp /

noun

1. the state of being connected or related

2. association by blood or marriage; kinship

3. the mutual dealings, connections, or feelings that exist between two parties, countries, people, etc

   a business relationship

4. an emotional or sexual affair or liaison

5. logic maths another name for relation

---

Related Words

Relationship, kinship refer to connection with others by blood or by marriage. Relationship can be applied to connection either by birth or by marriage: relationship to a ruling family. Kinship generally denotes common descent and implies a more intimate connection than relationship: the ties and obligations of kinship.

Other Word Forms

• prerelationship
  noun

Etymology

Origin of relationship

First recorded in 1735–45; relation + -ship

Explanation

When you're in a relationship, you're emotionally involved or at least connected in some way. If you're related to somebody — your parents, your aunts and uncles, your cousins — you share a family relationship with them. You can also use relationship to describe dealings between various groups, as “Members of the European Union have a relationship of economic interconnectedness,” or “A lease helps define your relationship with your landlord.” You'll also see relationship used with interactions that don't directly involve people. In many of these cases, the word relation is better. For example, in the sentence "We are always looking at the relationship between ticket price and sales," it would be better to use relation.

Example Sentences

Lula, 80, and Trump, 79, are ideological opposites who have had a rocky relationship, and their meeting Thursday will be only their second official encounter since they held talks in Malaysia last year.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

She was consulting for the company when she met Musk in 2016 and the two briefly started a romantic relationship.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

A former OpenAI board member has explained how her unconventional personal relationship with Elon Musk evolved into having four of his children.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

So when Spirit announced it was shutting down, the couple reflected on the airline’s role in the beginning of their relationship.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

After several decades of research, I have developed a set of functions for music that takes into account the role of neurology and physiology as well as culture in its relationship to music.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• accord
• affair
• communication
• contact
• exchange
• liaison
• link
• marriage
• rapport
• relation
• tie