union

[ yoon-yuhn ]
See synonyms for union on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act of uniting two or more things.

  2. the state of being united.

  1. something formed by uniting two or more things; combination.

  2. a number of persons, states, etc., joined or associated together for some common purpose: student union; credit union.

  3. a group of states or nations united into one political body, as that of the American colonies at the time of the Revolution, that of England and Scotland in 1707, or that of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.

  4. the Union. the United States: The Union defeated the Confederacy in 1865.

  5. a device emblematic of union, used in a flag or ensign, sometimes occupying the upper corner next to the staff or occupying the entire field.

  6. the act of uniting or an instance of being united in marriage or sexual intercourse: an ideal union; an illicit union.

  7. an organization of workers; a labor union.

  8. Mathematics.

    • Also called join, logical sum, sum. the set consisting of elements each of which is in at least one of two or more given sets. Symbol: ∪

    • the least upper bound of two elements in a lattice.

  9. the process or result of merging or integration of disjoined, severed, or fractured elements, as the healing of a wound or broken bone, the growing together of the parts in a plant graft, the fusion of pieces in a welding process, or the like.

  10. the junction or location at which the merging process has taken place.

  11. any of various contrivances for connecting parts of machinery or the like.

  12. Textiles.

    • a fabric of two kinds of yarn.

    • a yarn of two or more fibers.

Origin of union

1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin ūniōn-, stem of ūniō, from Latin ūn(us) “one” + -iō -ion

synonym study For union

1. Union, unity agree in referring to a oneness, either created by putting together, or by being undivided. A union is a state of being united, a combination, as the result of joining two or more things into one: to promote the union between two families; the Union of England and Scotland. Unity is the state or inherent quality of being one, single, individual, and indivisible (often as a consequence of union): to find unity in diversity; to give unity to a work of art. 5. See alliance.

Other words for union

Opposites for union

Other words from union

  • in·ter·un·ion, noun, adjective
  • mis·un·ion, noun
  • pre·un·ion, adjective
  • pro·un·ion, adjective
  • self-union, noun

Other definitions for Union (2 of 2)

Union
[ yoon-yuhn ]

noun
  1. a township in NE New Jersey.

  2. a city in NW South Carolina.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use union in a sentence

  • Trades-unions have a double nature, they are created for both beneficial and business purposes.

  • You are living in one of those wonderful unions you describe in your books—and I've let you kiss me.

  • In the 396 unions, these dependents of able-bodied persons could not be relieved otherwise than in the workhouse.

  • This was notoriously not the case in many unions, the children especially being in an evil plight.

  • In this respect the old people in particular unions shared in the general benefit.

British Dictionary definitions for union (1 of 2)

union

/ (ˈjuːnjən) /


noun
  1. the condition of being united, the act of uniting, or a conjunction formed by such an act

  2. an association, alliance, or confederation of individuals or groups for a common purpose, esp political

  1. agreement or harmony

  2. short for trade union

  3. the act or state of marriage or sexual intercourse

  4. a device on a flag representing union, such as another flag depicted in the top left corner

  5. a device for coupling or linking parts, such as pipes

  6. (often capital)

    • an association of students at a university or college formed to look after the students' interests, provide facilities for recreation, etc

    • the building or buildings housing the facilities of such an organization

  7. Also called: join maths a set containing all members of two given sets. Symbol: ⋃, as in A⋃B

  8. (in 19th-century England)

    • a number of parishes united for the administration of poor relief

    • a workhouse supported by such a combination

  9. textiles a piece of cloth or fabric consisting of two different kinds of yarn

  10. (modifier) of or related to a union, esp a trade union

Origin of union

1
C15: from Church Latin ūniō oneness, from Latin ūnus one

British Dictionary definitions for Union (2 of 2)

Union

/ (ˈjuːnjən) /


nounthe Union
  1. British

    • the union of England and Wales from 1543

    • the union of the English and Scottish crowns (1603–1707)

    • the union of England and Scotland from 1707

    • the political union of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1920)

    • the union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1920

  2. US

    • the United States of America

    • the northern states of the US during the Civil War

    • (as modifier): Union supporters

  1. short for the Union of South Africa

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

Scientific definitions for union

union

[ yōōnyən ]


  1. A set whose members belong to at least one of a group of two or more given sets. The union of the sets {1,2,3} and {3,4,5} is the set {1,2,3,4,5}, and the union of the sets {6,7} and {11,12,13} is the set {6,7,11,12,13}. The symbol for union is . Compare intersection.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for Union

Union

The United States; especially the northern states during the Civil War, which remained with the original United States government. (Compare Confederacy.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.