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

• association
• board
• brotherhood
• chamber
• club
• college
• congress
• council
• fellowship
• fraternity
• guild
• gild
• institute
• institution
• league
• order
• organization
• society
• sodality

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 Kuwait was the first to buy the warplane from Leonardo, other nations purchased it directly from the other companies in the consortium. —Lara Jakes, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2025

In the period between the 2017 Inauguration and the end of that March, the consortium tallied about two thousand protests. —Julia Angwin, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2025

Breathless headlines frequently declare that countries are seeking alternatives to the dollar, that a new consortium is attempting to create a rival currency, or that the latest political crisis in Washington will finally end the dollar’s reserve status. —Edward Fishman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2025

The first development consortium included 28 partners; today there are almost 200 Catena-X e.V. members, with an increasing focus on internationality. —Jeanette Rohr, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 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