consortium

noun

con·​sor·​tium kən-ˈsȯr-sh(ē-)əm 

-ˈsȯr-tē-əm

plural consortia kən-ˈsȯr-sh(ē-)ə 

-ˈsȯr-tē-ə

also consortiums

1

: an agreement, combination, or group (as of companies) formed to undertake an enterprise beyond the resources of any one member

A consortium of researchers decoded the honeybee genome.

2

: association, society

3

: the legal right of one spouse to the company, affection, and assistance of and to sexual relations with the other

Synonyms of consortium

• organization
• institute
• association
• institution
• society
• chamber
• fraternity
• group
• council
• board

Examples of consortium in a Sentence

A Japanese consortium invested millions in the technology.

a consortium for the prevention of animal cruelty

Recent Examples on the Web

Goldman is part of the Wall Street consortium that has committed to raising $500 billion to help Nvidia finance the AI buildout, an alliance that will allow the company’s ambitions to outrun even its own healthy balance sheet. — Ellen Dimauro, semafor.com, 10 Nov. 2026

This past March, more than two thousand mental-health professionals at the health-care consortium Kaiser Permanente went on a one-day strike over concerns that they would eventually be replaced by artificial intelligence. — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2026

During his 2026 State of the Nation address, President Duma Boko endorsed a consortium led by former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny to acquire Anglo American’s 85 percent holding. — Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 10 Nov. 2026

Louisiana's academic library consortium named it Academic Library of the Year in 2025. — Arkansas Online, 6 Nov. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin, fellowship, from consort-, consors — see consort entry 1

First Known Use

1829, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Legal Definition

consortium

noun

con·​sor·​tium kən-ˈsȯr-shəm; -shē-əm 

plural consortia -shə, -shē-ə  also consortiums

1

: an agreement, combination, or group (as of companies) formed to undertake an enterprise beyond the resources of any one member

2

[Medieval Latin, marital partnership, from Latin] : the right of one spouse to the company, affection, and assistance of and to sexual relations with the other

also : the right of a parent or child to the company, affection, and assistance of the other

suing for loss of consortium

compare society

Etymology

Latin, sharing, partnership, from consort-, consors sharer, partner