membership

noun

mem·​ber·​ship ˈmem-bər-ˌship How to pronounce membership (audio)
plural memberships
Synonyms of membershipnext
1
: the state or status of being a member
2
: the body of members
an organization with a large membership
3
mathematics : the relation between an element of a set (see set entry 2 sense 21) or class and the set or class itself compare inclusion sense 3a

Examples of membership in a Sentence

What is the cost of a one-year membership? Membership in the club doubled last year. clubs that are hoping to increase their membership The club has a large membership. clubs that are hoping to increase their memberships
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Security researchers suspect the two groups might have overlapping membership or could be simply targeting the same industries, making attribution harder, according to BleepingComputer. — PC Magazine, 6 Aug. 2025 Lake Forest Caucus officials are interested in creating an electronic voting option for residents and holding off, at least temporarily, on making changes to provide direction in case the Caucus Committee and the general membership have a dispute. — Daniel I. Dorfman, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025 The membership voted narrowly to expel two writers who were accused of breaking strike rules, and to suspend a third. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 4 Aug. 2025 Some of those with the lower-tier membership realized their stores — many of which already opened at 9 a.m. for all members — would effectively open one hour later for them, which sparked discontent in some. — Rachel Raposas, People.com, 1 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for membership

Word History

First Known Use

1614, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of membership was in 1614

Rhymes for membership

See All Rhymes for membership

Browse Nearby Words

memberless
membership
membership star
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Membership.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/membership. Accessed 17 Aug. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

membership

noun
mem·​ber·​ship ˈmem-bər-ˌship How to pronounce membership (audio)
1
: the state or status of being a member
2
: all the members of an organization

More from Merriam-Webster on membership

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for membership

Nglish: Translation of membership for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Hypercorrections: Are you making these 6 common mistakes?

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Using Bullet Points ( • )

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Our Best Historical Slang Terms

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

12 Words Whose History Will Surprise You

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Our Best Historical Slang Terms

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All