relationship

- definition

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.

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.

noun [countable] British English pronunciation: relationship

/rɪˈleɪʃ(ə)nʃɪp/

singular	relationship
plural	relationships

Other entries for this word

Related dictionary definitions

Metaphor

1
the way in which two or more people or things are connected with or involve each other
between:
There is a close relationship between poverty and crime.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relationship
2
the way in which two or more people or groups behave towards and are involved with each other
the doctor-patient relationship
relationship between:
The relationships between players from the two teams were pretty friendly.
relationship with:
What was your relationship with your mother like?
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relationship
1. a.
  a sexual or romantic relationship, especially one that continues for a long time
  Jack's job put a lot of strain on their relationship.
  be in/have a relationship:
  I was already in a relationship when I met Ben.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relationship

Metaphor: relationship

Metaphor

Relationships between people or groups are like physical connections. Having a good relationship is like being joined to the other person or group, and ending a relationship is like breaking this connection.

We have been close friends since we were five.
We were inseparable as children.
The very first time that they met, they bonded immediately.
I was very attached to him.
The school encourages links between students and local businesses.
He was left some money by a distant relative.
Cracks appeared in the relationship.
There was a growing rift between president and vice-president.
The book describes the deep divisions within the government.
The party was torn apart.
She had just split/broken up with her boyfriend.
My parents separated when I was very young.

When you improve a bad relationship, it is as if you have fixed or repaired something that is broken.

We are both committed to mending our marriage.
The visit is part of an attempt to repair the relationship between the two governments.
I'm glad to see that you two have patched things up.
The meeting was designed mainly as a fence-mending exercise.
The first step is to build bridges with the other side.
She's very good at smoothing over the differences between conflicting parties.
The agreement did no more than paper over the cracks.

➡ friendly

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

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

More BuzzWords

BuzzWord archive

Word of the Day

electron

a part of an atom that moves around the nucleus (=centre) and has a negative electrical charge

Word of the Day

Open Dictionary

never event

an event that should never occur in a healthcare setting …

add a word

More submissions

view entries

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