guild

play

noun \ ˈgild \

variants: or less commonly gild

Definition of guild

1 :an association of people with similar interests or pursuits; especially :a medieval association of merchants or craftsmen

2 :a group of organisms that use the same ecological resource in a similar way

a feeding guild

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guildship

play \ˈgil(d)-ˌship\ noun

See guild defined for English-language learners

See guild defined for kids

Examples of guild in a Sentence

after his apprenticeship, he was able to join the stonemasons' guild

Recent Examples of guild from the Web

As a volunteer for her church, Mrs. Riley supported Meals on Wheels and presently serves on their altar guild.

— ashley remkus, AL.com, "USS Charleston littoral combat ship christened at ceremony in Mobile," 26 Aug. 2017
The show also features a daily miniature quilt live auction, plus all sizes of quilts for sale made by participating quilt guild members.

— faye reeder, star-telegram, "Taste of Arlington will have new twist with same delicious tradition," 23 Aug. 2017
In a news release, the guild said the commission had issued a preliminary ruling in its favor.

— steve miletich, The Seattle Times, "State labor board to hear Seattle police complaint over use of body cameras," 16 Aug. 2017
But as cities like London and Paris grew, guilds sprung up to make books, bringing in parchment from all over.

— sarah zhang, The Atlantic, "Sampling DNA From a 1,000-Year-Old Illuminated Manuscript," 8 Aug. 2017
They are linked to the medieval guilds of stonemasons.

— kristina goetz, The Courier-Journal, "What is a Mason?," 20 July 2017
The Guild of St. Luke takes its name from the art guilds found in the 14th to 18th centuries across Europe.

— sarah bonnette, NOLA.com, "Former chicken coop makes for artists' haven at the Abbey," 26 June 2017
Each Friday, forest preserve staff will be on hand with binoculars, field guilds and information.

— vickie snow jurkowski, Daily Southtown, "Forest Preserves presents Food Truck Fridays," 23 June 2017
Newspaper guilds have been steadily vanquished in the past decade.

— The Hive, "Why Hollywood as We Know It Is Already Over," 19 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'guild.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of guild

Middle English gilde, from Old Norse gildi payment, guild; akin to Old English gield tribute, guild — more at geld

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

guild Synonyms

Synonyms

board, brotherhood, chamber, club, college, congress, consortium, council, fellowship, fraternity, association (also gild), institute, institution, league, order, organization, society, sodality

Related Words

collective, commune, community, cooperative; alliance, bloc, camp, coalition, partnership; body, cadre, group; circle, clan, clique, coterie, junta, junto, klatch (also klatsch), lot, set; crew, outfit, party, squad, team; branch, chapter, local; faithful, fold, membership; sisterhood, sorority; cabal, camarilla, camorra, confederacy, conspiracy; band, gang, ring; cartel, combine, syndicate

GUILD Defined for English Language Learners

guild

play

noun

Definition of guild for English Language Learners

: an organized group of people who have joined together because they share the same job or interest; especially : an association of people who made or sold goods in the Middle Ages