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

Synonyms of consortium next

: 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.

: association, society

: the legal right of one spouse to the company, affection, and assistance of and to sexual relations with the other

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 Take, for instance, her recent appearance at a consortium of autonomous car companies. —

Lexi Pandell, WIRED, 31 Aug. 2023 OverDrive, of which Libby is an extension, is like a consortium of Maryland libraries. —

Thomas Goodwin Smith, Baltimore Sun, 26 Aug. 2023 The restoration, funded by the BFI Production Board and conducted by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation, was made possible with contributions from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation and the BFI philanthropy Pioneers of Black British Filmmaking consortium. —

Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Aug. 2023 The University of Chicago has settled a class-action lawsuit alleging the school, along with a consortium of other elite universities, illegally collaborated in a price-fixing scheme to limit students’ financial aid. —

Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2023 Instead, Arrington focused on other efforts to expand African American education across the state by forming a consortium of historically Black colleges. —

Rebecca Griesbach | Rgriesbach@al.com, al, 4 Aug. 2023 Founded in 1861, Vassar was one of the Seven Sisters, a consortium of historically women’s colleges that also included Smith, Barnard, Wellesley, Radcliffe, Mount Holyoke, and Bryn Mawr. —

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Aug. 2023 Miga's team, called the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) consortium, is also beginning to compare the human Y sequence to the Y sequence of non-human primates, like chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos. —

Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 24 Aug. 2023 On Monday, the companies announced a new arrangement that pulls them closer together by eliminating a third-party consortium meant to oversee USDC, and by giving Coinbase a small equity stake in Circle. —

Byjeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 22 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'consortium.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin, fellowship, from consort-, consors — see consort entry 1

First Known Use

1829, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of consortium was in 1829

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Consortium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consortium. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.

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Legal Definition

consortium

noun

con·sor·tium kən-ˈsȯr-shəm; -shē-əm

plural consortia -shə, -shē-ə

also consortiums

: an agreement, combination, or group (as of companies) formed to undertake an enterprise beyond the resources of any one member

[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