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

While a single Native tribe sometimes sets up a tribal college, in other cases a consortium of tribes or the federal government helps establish a school. —Cynthia Lindquist, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2025

King has spent the last decade leading Red Giant Rights Group, a multimedia consortium that manages intellectual property for songwriters, artists, and estates. —Matt Emma, USA Today, 6 Oct. 2025

Cracking the genetic code of human life involved an international consortium of thousands of researchers in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and China. —Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2025

Whelan joined Leicester when the club were taken over by the consortium that would eventually be King Power International, owned by former chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, and then the Srivaddhanaprabha family in 2010, after working for King Power in Thailand. —Rob Tanner, New York Times, 2 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