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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:

Events manager Cordelia Sheridan, 27, who exercises four to five times a week at her gym in Battersea, says she treats her £45 gym membership "like an essential utility bill".

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

They were also focused on membership renewal rates.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

According to Southern Section’s Blue Book rule 500.5, “Any school knowingly or unknowingly violating the rule may be suspended from membership in the CIF Southern Section.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Canada wouldn’t seek full EU membership, Carney said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

For one thing, membership had decreased substantially in the past decade.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry

Netflix reported 89.6 million memberships in the U.S. and Canada at the end of 2024, the last time it broke out regional numbers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Next week’s Don’t Short Yourself is about how shoppers can negotiate the price of almost anything: furniture, gym memberships, even college tuition.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

Many discounts involve pairing up - 2-for-1 cinema tickets, Two-Together railcards, couples gym memberships - plus solo travellers often pay a single person supplement.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Annual memberships range from $1,250 to $4,850, with additional fees per flight for private suites or communal lounges.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

While some of these groups boasted large memberships, the suffragists questioned the numbers reported by the antis.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

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