Standard Lemma guide

membership

noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: M EH1 M B ER0 SH IH2 P Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state of being a member of a group or organization.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • The terms of membership agreement were vague.
  • He has memberships in clubs in three cities.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The body of members of an organization.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • The memberships of the state chapters elect delegates to the national convention.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The fact of being a member of a set.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: mathematics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To classify (someone) as belonging to a certain group or community.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences, social-science, sociolinguistics, sociology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

the body of members of an organization or group

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • they polled their membership
  • they found dissension in their own ranks
  • he joined the ranks of the unemployed

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: rank

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: body

6

noun

Meaning 6

the state of being a member

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: relationship

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English member Proto-Germanic *skapjaną Proto-Germanic *-skapiz Proto-West Germanic *-skapi Old English -sċiepe Middle English -schipe English -ship English membership From member + -ship.

Across languages

Translations

100 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: lidmaatskap — fact of being a member
  • Albanian: anëtarësi — fact of being a member
  • Arabic: عُضْوِيَّة (ʕuḍwiyya) — fact of being a member
  • Armenian: անդամություն (andamutʻyun) — fact of being a member
  • Azerbaijani: üzvlük — fact of being a member
  • Belarusian: чле́нства (čljénstva) — fact of being a member
  • Bulgarian: чле́нство (člénstvo) — fact of being a member
  • Chinese Mandarin: 會籍 /会籍 (huìjí) — fact of being a member
  • Chinese Mandarin: 會員身份 /会员身份 (huìyuán shēnfèn) — fact of being a member
  • Chinese Mandarin: 會員 /会员 (huìyuán) — fact of being a member
  • Czech: členství — fact of being a member
  • Danish: medlemskab — fact of being a member
  • Dutch: lidmaatschap — fact of being a member
  • Esperanto: anaro — fact of being a member
  • Esperanto: membreco — fact of being a member
  • Estonian: liikmelisus — fact of being a member
  • Finnish: jäsenyys — fact of being a member
  • French: adhésion — fact of being a member
  • French: appartenance — fact of being a member
  • French: affiliation — fact of being a member
  • Georgian: წევრობა (c̣evroba) — fact of being a member
  • German: Mitgliedschaft — fact of being a member
  • Greek: συμμετοχή ως μέλος (symmetochí os mélos) — fact of being a member
  • Greek: συμμετοχή (symmetochí) — fact of being a member
  • Greek: ιδιότητα του μέλους (idiótita tou mélous) — fact of being a member
  • Hebrew: חֲבֵרוּת (khaverút) — fact of being a member
  • Hindi: सदस्यता (sadasyatā) — fact of being a member
  • Hungarian: tagság — fact of being a member
  • Ido: membreso — fact of being a member
  • Indonesian: keanggotaan — fact of being a member
  • Irish: ballraíocht — fact of being a member
  • Irish: comhaltas — fact of being a member
  • Italian: iscrizione — fact of being a member
  • Italian: appartenenza — fact of being a member
  • Japanese: メンバーシップ (menbāshippu) — fact of being a member
  • Japanese: 会員 (kai'in) — fact of being a member
  • Kazakh: мүшелік (müşelık) — fact of being a member
  • Khmer: សមាជិកភាព (saʼmaacɨkphiəp) — fact of being a member
  • Korean: 회원 (hoewon) — fact of being a member
  • Korean: 멤버십 (membeosip) — fact of being a member
  • Kumyk: ортакъчылыкъ (ortaqçılıq) — fact of being a member
  • Kyrgyz: мүчөлүк (mücölük) — fact of being a member
  • Lao: ສະມາຊິກະພາບ (sa mā si ka phāp) — fact of being a member
  • Latvian: piederība — fact of being a member
  • Latvian: dalība — fact of being a member
  • Lithuanian: narystė — fact of being a member
  • Macedonian: членство (členstvo) — fact of being a member
  • Malay: keahlian — fact of being a member
  • Malayalam: അംഗത്വം (aṅgatvaṁ) — fact of being a member
  • Māori: mematanga — fact of being a member
  • Norwegian Bokmål: medlemskap — fact of being a member
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: medlemskap — fact of being a member
  • Pashto: عضويت ('ozwiyat) — fact of being a member
  • Persian: عضویت ('ozviyyat) — fact of being a member
  • Polish: członkostwo — fact of being a member
  • Portuguese: adesão — fact of being a member
  • Romanian: apartenență — fact of being a member
  • Russian: чле́нство (člénstvo) — fact of being a member
  • Scottish Gaelic: ballrachd — fact of being a member
  • Serbo-Croatian: чла̀нство — fact of being a member
  • Serbo-Croatian: члaнapинство — fact of being a member
  • Serbo-Croatian: člànstvo — fact of being a member
  • Serbo-Croatian: članarinstvo — fact of being a member
  • Slovak: členstvo — fact of being a member
  • Slovene: članstvo — fact of being a member
  • Spanish: membresía — fact of being a member
  • Swahili: uanachama — fact of being a member
  • Swedish: medlemskap — fact of being a member
  • Tajik: узвият (uzviyat) — fact of being a member
  • Telugu: సభ్యత్వము (sabhyatvamu) — fact of being a member
  • Thai: สมาชิกภาพ (sà-maa-chík-gà-pâap) — fact of being a member
  • Turkish: üyelik — fact of being a member
  • Turkmen: agzalyk — fact of being a member
  • Ukrainian: чле́нство (člénstvo) — fact of being a member
  • Urdu: رکنیت (rukniyat) — fact of being a member
  • Urdu: عضویت ('uzviyat) — fact of being a member
  • Uzbek: aʻzolik — fact of being a member
  • Uzbek: azolik — fact of being a member
  • Vietnamese: số hội viên — fact of being a member
  • Welsh: aelodaeth — fact of being a member
  • Yiddish: מיטגלידערשאַפֿט (mitglidershaft) — fact of being a member
  • Bulgarian: чле́нска ма́са (člénska mása) — body of members
  • Esperanto: membraro — body of members
  • Esperanto: membreco — body of members
  • Finnish: jäsenistö — body of members
  • Finnish: jäsenkunta — body of members
  • German: Mitgliederschaft — body of members
  • Greek: μέλη (méli) — body of members
  • Irish: ballra — body of members
  • Irish: na baill — body of members
  • Japanese: 会員 (kai'in) — body of members
  • Māori: rōpū mema — body of members
  • Portuguese: membro — body of members
  • Portuguese: corpo do membro — body of members
  • Danish: medlemskab — in set theory
  • Finnish: kuuluminen — in set theory
  • French: appartenance — in set theory
  • German: Zugehörigkeit — in set theory
  • Romanian: apartenență — in set theory
  • Russian: принадле́жность (prinadléžnostʹ) — in set theory
Real reading context

membership in complete knowledge articles