sorority
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sorority
1525–35; < Medieval Latin sorōritās, equivalent to Latin sorōr- (stem of soror ) sister + -itās -ity
Explanation
If you join a sorority, you're joining a social organization for women, typically one based at a university or college. Your sorority probably has a lot of social events such as meetings, mixers, galas, and fundraisers. First used in the 1530s, the noun sorority stems from the Middle Latin word sororitas, meaning "sisterhood, of or pertaining to sisters." Although members of a sorority aren't actually biological sisters, the idea is to form a strong bond between members — or "sisters" — based on commitment to the group. To build allegiance, members of a sorority might wear the same sweatshirts with Greek letters and attend social events and regular club meetings.
Vocabulary lists containing sorority
Tears of a Tiger
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When I Was the Greatest
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The Parker Inheritance
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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.
We first meet her in her inner sanctum, her extremely girly bedroom in the depths of her extremely girly sorority, Delta Nu.
From Salon • Jul. 6, 2026
Extracurriculars that “highlight team leadership, whether it’s in a sorority or fraternity, or the newspaper, certainly help us see that those individuals are motivated and are more likely to succeed,” she said.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026
Plus, Apple and Intel plan to work together on chips, and a new book explains the rules of sorority rush.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
We kissed, and with it came a memory: Freshman year of college, orientation week or shortly afterward, I was at a football party with the girl who would soon be my sorority big.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
The sorority tutored, mentored children, did community outreach, and gave out scholarships.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
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.
