guild

noun \ ˈgild \

variants: or less commonly gild

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

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

—

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

The guild points to the Chicago Police Department's history of monitoring dissidents including #BlackLivesMatter protesters.

— freddy martinez, Chicago Reader, "Groups fight huge expansion of police drone monitoring of protests," 29 May 2018
Crean and Murphy are both guild members and chat with visitors as people tour the intricate displays of model ships from eras throughout history, some protected under glass, others built inside bottles.

— cristela guerra, BostonGlobe.com, "For these shipbuilders, it’s a small world," 16 Mar. 2018
Loopy Ladies Rug Hooking Guild: This guild is a group of women practicing the traditional art of rug hooking. Meets the third Sunday of every month.

— Lake County News-Sun, "Calendar: Climate change the focus of Lake Forest panel discussion," 14 May 2018
The French gender equality group 50/50 by 2020 and the French directors’ guild have been working in concert with the festival to plan this event, which requires the use of festival cars to get the women to their red carpet destination.

— rebecca keegan, HWD, "Exclusive: How Kristen Stewart, Jane Fonda, and 80 Other Women Will Protest Cannes’s Astonishing Gender Gap," 12 May 2018
Classes on how to plant a fruit tree guild and other permaculture practices are offered at The Resiliency Institute.

— judy buchenot, Naperville Sun, "Suburban Cooks: Recipe for food-producing garden," 20 Apr. 2018
Mexico City was founded at a time of transition in Europe, when the old continent was emerging from the centuries-old guild systems that prevailed in the Middle Ages.

— maria teresa hernandez, Fox News, "Reminders of centuries past emerge along Mexico City streets," 26 Mar. 2018
OCEANSIDE Quilting blogger to be guest speaker The El Camino Quilters will host guest speaker Lyn Brown sharing about quilts and guilds at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the group’s new meeting place: the QLN Conference Center, 1938 Avenida Del Oro.

— linda mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Pet adoption center being built in Rancho Santa Fe... more community news," 5 Feb. 2018
And behind them all, hangs the work of one of the smallest and most specialized of the theatrical guilds, the Broadway scene painters.

— eben shapiro, Time, "Inside the Art Studio That Brings Broadway Shows to Life," 10 May 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

guild Synonyms

Synonyms

association, board, brotherhood, chamber, club, college, congress, consortium, council, fellowship, fraternity, institute, institution, league, order, organization, society, sodality;

alliance, bloc, camp, coalition, partnership;

body, cadre, group;

circle, clan, clique, coterie, junta, lot, set;

crew, outfit, party, squad, team;

branch, chapter, local;

faithful, fold, membership;

sisterhood, sorority;

cabal, confederacy, conspiracy;

band, gang, ring;

cartel, combine, syndicate;

GUILD Defined for English Language Learners

guild

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