Macmillan Dictionary

Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

association

 - definition
 
 
 
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
noun British English pronunciation: association /əˌsəʊsiˈeɪʃ(ə)n/ 
Word Forms
Close
singularassociation
pluralassociations
Other entries for this word
  1. 1
    [countable] a group of people who have joined together because they have similar interests or aims

    a professional association of engineers

    the Parent-Teacher Association

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of association
  2. 2
    [countable/uncountable] a connection with a person, group, or organization
    association with:

    The police knew all about his associations with organized crime.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of association
  3. 3
    [countable] a connection between two things
    association between:

    Some studies show a strong association between pesticide use and certain diseases.

    association with:

    Smoking has a close association with lung cancer.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of association
    1. a.
      a memory or feeling that is connected with a particular place, event etc

      The town has many happy childhood associations for me.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of association

phrase

This is the British English definition of association. View American English definition of association.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

 

charticle

a news article that consists of a chart … and only has a small amount of text

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day

proton

the part of the nucleus of an atom that has a positive electrical charge

Open Dictionary

never event

an event that should never occur in a healthcare setting …

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog