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Definition of parties - 2 dictionary results
Lazer Xpress
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par⋅ty

  [pahr-tee] noun, plural -ties, adjective, verb, -tied, -ty⋅ing.
Use parties in a Sentence
–noun
1. a social gathering, as of invited guests at a private home, for conversation, refreshments, entertainment, etc.: a cocktail party.
2. a group gathered for a special purpose or task: a fishing party; a search party.
3. a detachment, squad, or detail of troops assigned to perform some particular mission or service.
4. a group of persons with common purposes or opinions who support one side of a dispute, question, debate, etc.
5. a group of persons with common political opinions and purposes organized for gaining political influence and governmental control and for directing government policy: the Republican party; the Democratic party.
6. the system of taking sides on public or political questions or the like.
7. attachment or devotion to one side or faction; partisanship: to put considerations of party first.
8. Law.
a. one of the litigants in a legal proceeding; a plaintiff or defendant in a suit.
b. a signatory to a legal instrument.
c. a person participating in or otherwise privy to a crime.
9. a person or group that participates in some action, affair, plan, etc.; participant: He was a party to the merger deal.
10. the person under consideration; a specific individual: Look at the party in the green velvet shorts.
11. a person or, usually, two or more persons together patronizing a restaurant, attending a social or cultural function, etc.: The headwaiter asked how many were in our party; a party of 12 French physicists touring the labs; a party of one at the small table.
12. a person participating in a telephone conversation: I have your party on the line.
13. any occasion or activity likened to a social party, as specified; session: The couple in the next apartment are having their usual dish-throwing party.
14. an advantageous or pleasurable situation or combination of circumstances of some duration and often of questionable character; period of content, license, exemption, etc.: The police broke in and suddenly the party was over for the nation's most notorious gunman.
–adjective
15. of or pertaining to a party or faction; partisan: party leaders.
16. of or for a social gathering: her new party dress.
17. being shared by or pertaining to two or more persons or things.
18. Heraldry. (of an escutcheon) having the field divided into a number of parts, usually two; parted.
–verb (used without object) Informal.
19. to go to or give parties, esp. a series of parties.
20. to enjoy oneself thoroughly and without restraint; indulge in pleasure.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME partie < OF, n. use of fem. of parti, ptp. of partir < L partīre to share. See part

Related forms:
par⋅ty⋅less, adjective

Synonyms:
1. meeting, assemblage. See company. 4. faction, circle, coterie, ring.

Usage note:
Party meaning “a specific individual” is old in the language, going back to the 15th century, and was formerly in common use. Today, it remains standard in limited senses, chiefly the legal, and is often used humorously or condescendingly: the party holding the balloon. Person is the neutral and common term.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To parties
Lazer Xpress
 The Mobile Lazer tag Adventure Birthdays Camps Fundraisers & More
 www.LazerXpress.com
Childrens Party
 Party Supplies, Favors, Pinatas, Balloons, Banners and More!
 BirthdayExpress.com
par·ty   (pär'tē)   
n.   pl. par·ties
    1. A social gathering especially for pleasure or amusement: a cocktail party.
    2. A group of people who have gathered to participate in an activity. See Synonyms at band2.
    3. A person or group involved in an enterprise; a participant or an accessory: I refuse to be a party to your silly scheme.
    4. Law A person or group involved in a legal proceeding as a litigant.
    5. A subscriber to a telephone party line.
    6. A person using a telephone.
    7. An act of sexual intercourse.
    8. An orgy.
  2. An established political group organized to promote and support its principles and candidates for public office.
    1. A person or group involved in an enterprise; a participant or an accessory: I refuse to be a party to your silly scheme.
    2. Law A person or group involved in a legal proceeding as a litigant.
    3. A subscriber to a telephone party line.
    4. A person using a telephone.
    5. An act of sexual intercourse.
    6. An orgy.
    1. A subscriber to a telephone party line.
    2. A person using a telephone.
    3. An act of sexual intercourse.
    4. An orgy.
  5. A person: "And though Grainger was a spry old party, such steps couldn't be his" (Anthony Hyde).
  6. A selected group of soldiers: a raiding party.
  7. Slang
    1. An act of sexual intercourse.
    2. An orgy.
adj.  
  1. Of, relating to, or participating in an established political organization: party members; party politics.
  2. Suitable for use at a social gathering: party dresses; a party hat.
  3. Characteristic of a pleasurable social gathering: a party atmosphere.
intr.v.   par·tied, par·ty·ing, par·ties
To celebrate or carouse at or as if at a party: That night we partied until dawn.

[Middle English partie, part, side, group, from Old French, from feminine past participle of partir, to divide, from Latin partīre, from pars, part-, part; see part.]
par'ty·er, par'ti·er n.
Usage Note: Party is unexceptionable when used to refer to a participant in a social arrangement, as in She was not named as a party in the conspiracy. It is this sense that underlies the legal use of the term, as when one speaks of the parties to a contract. The legal use has in turn led to the presence of the word in many fixed expressions, such as injured party and third party. But party is also widely used as a general substitute for person, as in Would all parties who left packages at the desk please reclaim them. This usage has been established for many centuries, but in the Victorian era it came to be associated with the language of the semieducated and it has been the subject of many later criticisms. This use of party may have been reinforced in the 20th century by its adoption by telephone operators. In other contexts, when used in earnest, it may be perceived as a superfluous variant for person. But the jocular use of the term is well established, particularly in references such as a wise old party.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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