con·sor·tium | \ kən-ˈsȯr-sh(ē-)əm 
, -ˈsȯr-tē-əm \
, -ˈsȯr-tē-əm \ plural consortia\ kən-ˈsȯr-sh(ē-)ə , -ˈsȯr-tē-ə \ also consortiums
, -ˈsȯr-tē-ə \ also consortiumsDefinition of consortium
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
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Synonyms for consortium
Synonyms
- association,
- board,
- brotherhood,
- chamber,
- club,
- college,
- congress,
- council,
- fellowship,
- fraternity,
- guild
- (also gild),
- institute,
- institution,
- league,
- order,
- organization,
- society,
- sodality
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 In the latest in a string of deals designed to build scale and cut costs, a consortium led by Euronext this month agreed to buy Borsa Italiana Group from London Stock Exchange Group for around €4.33 billion, equivalent to about $5.1 billion.
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Joe Wallace, WSJ, "Technical Glitch Disrupts Trading on Major European Exchanges," 19 Oct. 2020 One component of animal health that largely reflects the surrounding environment is the microbiome, the consortium of microbes now known to aid in food digestion, regulating the immune system and protecting against pathogens.
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Sasha Greenspan, The Conversation, "Climate warming is altering animals’ gut microbes, which are critical to their health and survival," 28 Sep. 2020 The consortium, known as GUPC, was the contractor selected for the biggest project in the canal extension program.
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Charles Penty, Bloomberg.com, "Builder Group Told to Repay $240 Million in Panama Canal Dispute," 26 Sep. 2020 Allaire pointed in particular to Facebook, which is backing a consortium called Libra that plans to issue a global digital currency that will be backed by US dollars or by a basket of major currencies.
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Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, "Feds’ ‘stablecoin’ letter may boost crypto ambitions of Facebook, Square," 22 Sep. 2020 Communities within the county are part of a consortium that seeks out a lower group rate for recycling and rubbish collection for the communities as a whole.
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cleveland, "Despite higher costs, Pepper Pike will pay to continue recycling," 23 Aug. 2020 Baker said other theaters in the Art House Convergence, a nationwide consortium of independent theaters that Salt Lake Film Society helped found, also closed that weekend.
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Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune, "Hollywood is ready for theaters to reopen. Are Utah moviegoers?," 21 Aug. 2020 The $7 billion project will instead be delayed until early next year, the director of the consortium said earlier this month.
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Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, "JFK Needs $3 Billion in Order to Move Forward With Construction," 20 Aug. 2020 Bell is a member of a consortium of ecologists and wildlife biologists that have put out a conservation plan to study parasites in more detail, protect them, and treat them with a bit of, well, respect.
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Eric Niiler, Wired, "Should We Conserve Parasites? Apparently, Yes," 13 Aug. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'consortium.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for consortium
consortium
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of consortium
: a group of people, companies, etc., that agree to work together
See the full definition for consortium in the English Language Learners Dictionary
consortium
nouncon·sor·tium | \ kən-ˈsȯr-shəm; -shē-əm \
\ plural consortia\ -shə, -shē-ə \ also consortiums
\ also consortiumsLegal Definition of consortium
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
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Time Traveler for consortium
The first known use of consortium was in 1829
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