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

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

Boeing must sell all of the parts of Spirit that supply European aircraft consortium Airbus. —Matthew J. Belvedere,paulina Likos, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025

The company gathered some partners into a consortium, including Chinese operators heavily involved in their country’s Belt and Road infrastructure scheme. —Samanth Subramanian, The Dial, 14 Oct. 2025

Last year, landmines killed or wounded more than 5,700 people, the vast majority of whom were civilians, according to the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, an annual report published by a consortium of non-profit groups. —NPR, 13 Oct. 2025

Ultimately, the cotton consortium sees the paper functioning as a platform and calls for collaborative action—not an endpoint. —Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 13 Oct. 2025

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