assembly

noun

as·​sem·​bly ə-ˈsem-blē 

plural assemblies

1

: a company of persons gathered for deliberation and legislation, worship, or entertainment

an assembly of religious leaders

2

capitalized : a legislative body

specifically : the lower house of a legislature

3

: a meeting of a student body and usually faculty for administrative, educational, or recreational purposes

A school assembly was held in the auditorium.

4

a

: assemblage sense 1

an assembly of well-wishers

b

: assemblage sense 2

a place of public assembly

5

: a signal for troops to assemble or fall in

6

a

: the fitting together of manufactured parts into a complete machine, structure, or unit of a machine

the assembly of an automobile

b

: a collection of parts so assembled

7

: the translation of assembly language to machine language by an assembler

Synonyms

• assemblage
• conference
• meeting
• gathering
• congregation
• panel
• audience

Examples of assembly in a Sentence

The parts are made in this factory and then shipped to another country for assembly.

the New York State Assembly

an assembly of armed men

School assemblies were usually held in the cafeteria.

Recent Examples on the Web

These four are all very proud of their special status, which involves democratic processes, including members electing the club’s president, approving (or not) annual accounts, and voting on changes to club statutes at assemblies that must be held once a year. —Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025

Aero Hand Open focuses on simplicity Unlike many existing robotic hands that rely on expensive proprietary actuators or complex mechanical assemblies, Aero Hand Open focuses on simplicity, reliability, and transparency. —Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025

An additional 62 canisters rest horizontally nearby — 50 of them filled with fuel assemblies from the time the facility generated power and another 12 containing radioactive debris from dismantling the plant. —Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Oct. 2025

Made in India by 2026 Apple started looking for manufacturing alternatives after the pandemic outbreak and subsequent lockdown in China disrupted output at its largest assembly plant. —Anniek Bao, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English asemble, assemble "gathering, meeting, group gathered for a purpose, as a deliberative body," borrowed from Anglo-French asemblee, assemblee, noun derivative from feminine past participle of asembler, assembler "to come together, assemble"

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing assembly

• assembly language
• assembly line
• general assembly
• house of assembly
• legislative assembly
• pre-assembly
• self-assembly

Rhymes for assembly

• disassembly
• reassembly
• subassembly

Kids Definition

assembly

noun

as·​sem·​bly ə-ˈsem-blē 

plural assemblies

1

: a body of persons gathered together (as to make laws or for discussion, worship, or entertainment)

2

capitalized : a governing body

especially : the lower house of a legislature

3

: the act of gathering together or state of being assembled

4

: a signal for troops to assemble

5

: a collection of parts that go to make up a complete machine, structure, or unit of a machine

6

: the translation of assembly language to machine language by an assembler

7

: a meeting of a student body and usually teachers for educational or recreational purposes

Legal Definition

assembly

noun

as·​sem·​bly

plural assemblies

1

a

: a company of persons collected together in one place usually for some common purpose

b

capitalized : a legislative body especially that makes up the lower house of a legislature see also general assembly, legislative assembly

2

: the act of coming together : the condition of being assembled see also unlawful assembly