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.

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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

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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

After initially denying any misconduct, the married father-of-six confirmed he had had a relationship with married staff member Regina Santos-Aviles.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

I got in there the idea of a strain with the Lakers, but I wanted to make sure to not defile that relationship based upon certain things that I wasn’t going to dig into.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

But, with taxpayers busy with the hated chore of filing their annual returns, it’s a good time to take a look back at the testy relationship between Americans and taxes.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Bitcoin’s relative strength on Friday may offer a bullish clue for battered software shares — that is, if a past relationship still holds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

He suspected their relationship was a lot worse off camera.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

Related Words

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