group

noun

any collection or assemblage of persons or things; cluster; aggregation: a group of protesters; a remarkable group of paintings.

a number of persons or things ranged or considered together as being related in some way.

Also called radical. Chemistry. two or more atoms specifically arranged, as the hydroxyl group, –OH. Compare free radical.

Linguistics.

(in the classification of related languages within a family) a category of a lower order than a subbranch and of a higher order than a subgroup: the Low German group of West Germanic languages.

any grouping of languages, whether it is made on the basis of geography, genetic relationship, or something else.

Geology. a division of stratified rocks comprising two or more formations.

Military.

Army. a flexible administrative and tactical unit consisting of two or more battalions and a headquarters.

Air force. an administrative and operational unit subordinate to a wing, usually composed of two or more squadrons.

Music. a section of an orchestra comprising the instruments of the same class.

Art. a number of figures or objects shown in an arrangement together.

Mathematics. an algebraic system that is closed under an associative operation, as multiplication or addition, and in which there is an identity element that, on operating on another element, leaves the second element unchanged, and in which each element has corresponding to it a unique element that, on operating on the first, results in the identity element.

10.

( Grammar chiefly British ) a phrase: nominal group; verbal group.

Relevant Questions

What Food Group Is Rice?

verb (used with object)

11.

to place or associate together in a group, as with others.

12.

to arrange in or form into a group or groups.

00:10

Group is always a great word to know.

So is cyanide. Does it mean:

a salt of hydrocyanic acid, such as potassium cyanide, KCN

a colorless, oily, water-soluble, highly toxic, liquid alkaloid, C10H14N2, found in tobacco and valued as an insecticide

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

verb (used without object)

13.

to form a group.

14.

to be part of a group.

Origin:
1665–75; < French groupe < Italian gruppo ≪ Germanic

Related forms

group·wise, adverb

su·per·group, noun

un·grouped, adjective

Synonyms
12. order, organize, classify, combine.

Usage note
1, 2. See collective noun.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To group

Collins

World English Dictionary

group (ɡruːp)

—n
1.	a number of persons or things considered as a collective unit
2.	a. a number of persons bound together by common social standards, interests, etc
	b. (as modifier): group behaviour
3.	a small band of players or singers, esp of pop music
4.	a number of animals or plants considered as a unit because of common characteristics, habits, etc
5.	grammar another word, esp in systemic grammar, for phrase
6.	an association of companies under a single ownership and control, consisting of a holding company, subsidiary companies, and sometimes associated companies
7.	two or more figures or objects forming a design or unit in a design, in a painting or sculpture
8.	a military formation comprising complementary arms and services, usually for a purpose: a brigade group
9.	an air force organization of higher level than a squadron
10.	chem Compare free radical Also called: radical two or more atoms that are bound together in a molecule and behave as a single unit: a methyl group -CH₃
11.	Compare period a vertical column of elements in the periodic table that all have similar electronic structures, properties, and valencies
12.	geology any stratigraphical unit, esp the unit for two or more formations
13.	maths a set that has an associated operation that combines any two members of the set to give another member and that also contains an identity element and an inverse for each element
14.	See blood group

—vb
15.	to arrange or place (things, people, etc) in or into a group or (of things, etc) to form into a group

[C17: from French groupe, of Germanic origin; compare Italian gruppo; see crop]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

group

1695, originally an art criticism term, "assemblage of figures or objects in a painting or design," from Fr. groupe "cluster, group," from It. gruppo "group, knot," likely ult. from P.Gmc. *kruppaz "round mass, lump." Extended to "any assemblage" by 1736. The verb is from 1718. Meaning "pop music combo"

is from 1958; hence groupie "girl who follows pop groups," first attested 1967.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

group (gr&oomacr;p)
n.

An assemblage of persons or objects gathered or located together; an aggregation.
A class or collection of related objects or entities.
Two or more atoms that behave or that are regarded as behaving as a single chemical unit.

v. grouped, group·ing, groups

To place or arrange in a group.
To belong to or form a group.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage

Science Dictionary

group

(gr

p) Pronunciation Key

Chemistry
1. Two or more atoms that are bound together and act as a unit in a number of chemical compounds, such as a hydroxyl (OH) group.
2. In the periodic table, a vertical column that contains elements having the same number of electrons in the outermost shell of their atoms. Elements in the same group have similar chemical properties. See Periodic Table.
Mathematics A set with an operation whose domain is all ordered pairs of members of the set, such that the operation is binary (operates on two elements) and associative, the set contains the identity element of the operation, and each element of the set has an inverse element for the operation. The positive and negative integers and zero form a set that is a group under the operation of ordinary addition, since zero is the identity element of addition and the negative of each integer is its inverse. Groups are used extensively in quantum physics and chemistry to model phenomena involving symmetry and invariance.

FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

group definition

A group G is a non-empty set upon which a binary operator * is defined with the following properties for all a,b,c in G:
Closure: G is closed under *, a*b in G Associative: * is associative on G, (a*b)*c = a*(b*c) Identity: There is an identity element e such that a*e = e*a = a. Inverse: Every element has a unique inverse a' such that a * a' = a' * a = e. The inverse is usually written with a superscript -1.
(1998-10-03)

Example sentences

We all know that focusing on the characteristics of a group can obscure the

differences between the individuals in it.

And yet, my sense is that these same people are often quite sympathetic to the

excesses of personal and group loyalty.

Collective effervescence is the idea that an extraordinary perceived energy can

emerge in a group setting.

Fifty groups will be joining the campaign, the nonprofit organization will say.

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diazo group ethnic family subgroup diaspora acyl group

Matching Quote

"My consciousness-raising group is still going on. Every Monday night it meets, somewhere in Greenwich Village, and it drinks a lot of red wine and eats a lot of cheese. A friend of mine who is in it tells me that at the last meeting, each of the women took her turn to explain, in considerable detail, what she was planning to stuff her Thanksgiving turkey with. I no longer go to the group."

-Nora Ephron