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 of consortium

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

The company remained in a coma until 2022, when a consortium of private European and American investors brought it back to life. —New Atlas, 6 Dec. 2025

The consortium behind the project includes Fraunhofer IISB, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Clausthal University of Technology, and industrial partners HIMA and ACCUREC. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Dec. 2025

On Thursday, an anonymous consortium of feature-film producers sent an open letter to Congress describing a cascading series of disastrous outcomes should Netflix succeed in its bid to acquire Warner Bros. —Chris Lee, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025

The group told Becerra that McCluskie’s wife would now be working for a company controlled by Campbell, the powerful lobbying consortium The Collaborative. —Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 4 Dec. 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