congress

1 the highest lawmaking body of a political unit <the national emergency required a special session of congress> Synonyms parliament Related Words assembly, chamber, council, diet, house, legislative, legislature; general assembly, legislative assembly

2 a coming together of a number of persons for a specified purpose <following World War I a great congress of world leaders took place in Paris to plan the postwar world> Synonyms assembly, meeting, convention, convocation, council, gathering, get-together, huddle, powwowRelated Words clinic, workshop; cabinet, caucus, conclave, synod; demonstration, rally; confab, conversation, dialogue (also dialog), discourse, discussion, palaver, talk; negotiation, parley, summit; conference, forum, round-robin, roundtable, seminar, symposium; audience, interview, session

3 a group of persons formally joined together for some common interest <the Canada Trades and Labor Congress> Synonyms board, brotherhood, chamber, club, college, association, consortium, council, fellowship, fraternity, guild (also gild), institute, institution, league, order, organization, society, sodalityRelated Words collective, commune, community, cooperative; alliance, bloc, camp, coalition, partnership; body, cadre, group; circle, clan, clique, coterie, junta, junto, klatch (also klatsch), lot, set; crew, outfit, party, squad, team; branch, chapter, local; faithful, fold, membership; sisterhood, sorority; cabal, camarilla, camorra, confederacy, conspiracy; band, gang, ring; cartel, combine, syndicate

4 sexual union involving penetration of the vagina by the penis <laws that once prohibited congress between people of different races> Synonyms coition, coitus, commerce, sexual intercourse, copulating, copulation, coupling, intercourse, lovemaking, mating, relations, sex, sex act, sexual relationsRelated Words fornication; safe sex; carnality, sexuality; breeding, insemination; dalliance, hanky-panky, whoopee