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• federation
  federation

  noun

  the act of federating or uniting in a league.
• Federation
  Federation

  noun

  the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901

federation

American  

[fed-uh-rey-shuhn] / ˌfɛd əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

• federations
  plural

1. the act of federating or uniting in a league.

2. the formation of a political unity, with a central government, by a number of separate states, each of which retains control of its own internal affairs.

3. a league or confederacy.

4. a federated body formed by a number of nations, states, societies, unions, etc., each retaining control of its own internal affairs.

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federation ¹ British  

/ ˌfɛdəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of federating

2. the union of several provinces, states, etc, to form a federal union

3. a political unit formed in such a way

4. any league, alliance, or confederacy

5. a union of several parties, groups, etc

6. any association or union for common action

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Federation ² British  

/ ˌfɛdəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901

2. a style of domestic architecture of that period, characterized by red brick, terracotta roof tiles, sinuous curves, and heavy window frames

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interfederation
  noun
• refederation
  noun
• profederation
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• federations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of federation

1715–25; < Late Latin foederātiōn- (stem of foederātiō ) a leaguing. See federate, -ion

Explanation

A federation is an organization made up of smaller groups, parties, or states. The United States is a federation; the states all fall under the same federal government. The word federation may be most familiar as part of the name of an organization — for example, the International Tennis Federation, the American Advertising Federation, or the National Wild Turkey Federation. If you follow World Cup soccer, you may be interested to learn that the acronym FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Although the groups within a federation are united around a common goal or ideology, they usually like to keep some control at the local level as well.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

federation Federation federations

Gonzalez, the California law’s author, who is now head of a labor federation, has expressed frustration with what she has called a feeding frenzy for lawyers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Taylor will be trying to do exactly that in Turkey, where he has been appointed director of elite refereeing for the country's football federation.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The French soccer federation first contacted him in early 2025, knowing that Deschamps would leave his post after this summer’s World Cup in North America.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

"It's a David-versus-Goliath scenario... at some point, we'll find a weak spot and strike there," said federation spokesman Eric Brocardi.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

It had two wooden docks set fifty yards apart, which was a regulation distance according to federation swim rules.

From "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by emily m. danforth

Chris Cline was sitting by a hotel pool with his wife last month before attending an American Farm Bureau Federation conference in New Orleans when he got a text from an unknown number.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

In a Canadian Federation of Independent Business survey released this month, 40% of exporters reported that they sold products targeted by the tariffs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

A fundraiser for the two police officers set up by the Cleveland Police Federation topped £1m earlier this week.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

That could increase homeowners’ property insurance rates by as much as 50%, according to the Personal Insurance Federation of California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

Chess Federation rating calculated after the event was astronomically high—2375—confirming his status as a master and ranking him number twenty-five in the nation.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

He continued to promise increased revenue and greater distribution of funds to soccer federations around the world, which helped bolster support for him through FIFA’s one country-one vote system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

It pointed to his decade of work promoting football worldwide, and particularly his support for African federations and those with fewer resources.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The national federations of Serbia, Sweden and Wales on Monday withdrew their support for Infantino and England’s FA is expected to do the ‌same.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

With resources limited, a situation not helped by the widely reported corruption scandals within several international federations in Cameroon, attending international competitions was extremely challenging.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Eventually, internecine warfare erupted between the United States and Soviet Chess federations and FIDE.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• association
• league
• union