federation

noun

fed·​er·​a·​tion ˌfe-də-ˈrā-shən 

1

: an encompassing political or societal entity formed by uniting smaller or more localized entities: such as

a

: a federal government

b

: a union of organizations

2

: the act of creating or becoming a federation

especially : the forming of a federal union

Synonyms

• alliance
• axis
• bloc
• block
• coalition
• combination
• combine
• confederacy
• confederation
• league
• union

Examples of federation in a Sentence

a federation of labor unions

a federation of women's clubs

the federation of the states

Recent Examples on the Web

The romantic story suggests Athletic started fielding only Basque players in 1911 after being stripped of that year’s Copa del Rey for using ineligible foreign players, thereby sticking two fingers up to their rivals (Athletic were later reinstated as champions by the Spanish football federation). —Tomás Hill López-Menchero, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025

Ensure identity federation solutions (e.g., SAML, OpenID Connect) support hybrid cryptographic models without breaking authentication workflows. —Dino Dimarino, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025

Positioned at the intersection of the sports, media and betting industries, the company provides sports federations, news media, consumer platforms and sports betting operators with a best-in-class range of solutions to help grow their business. —Todd Gordon, CNBC, 15 Apr. 2025

In the end, the federation made a coaching change to address those issues. —Paul Tenorio, The Athletic, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for federation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

federation

noun

fed·​er·​a·​tion ˌfed-ə-ˈrā-shən 

1

: a political body formed by uniting smaller bodies

especially : a federal government

2

: the act of creating or becoming a federation