Entry Word: alliance

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 a formal agreement between two or more nations or peoples <the smaller countries signed an alliance pledging to protect one another against the belligerent behemoth in their midst> — see treaty
2 an association of persons, parties, or states for mutual assistance and protection <an alliance between the French and the Algonquians to check Iroquois advances into their territory> — see confederacy
3 the state of having shared interests or efforts (as in social or business matters) <in alliance with booksellers, the nationʼs schools are promoting National Reading Month> — see association 1