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

Decentralized finance platform Drift Protocol, the victim of an exploit earlier this month where hackers stole approximately $285 million of users’ cryptocurrency, plans to relaunch after securing around $150 million in funding from a consortium led by stablecoin issuer Tether Holdings SA. —Emily Mason, Bloomberg, 16 Apr. 2026

The consortium is funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Singapore and brings together several major academic and research institutions from Germany. —Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 15 Apr. 2026

The program was first announced by Nicholas Pierce, the assistant director of border security at CBP’s San Diego field office, during a December event celebrating the launch of a binational higher education consortium. —Alexandra Mendoza, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026

Behind all of it is a massive consortium of brands competing for attention. —Jesse Kirshbaum, SPIN, 10 Apr. 2026

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