liaison

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noun li·ai·son \ ˈlē-ə-ˌzän , lē-ˈā- , nonstandard ˈlā-ə- \

Definition of liaison

1 :a binding or thickening agent used in cooking

a butter and flour liaison

2 a :a close bond or connection :interrelationship

b :an illicit sexual relationship :affair 3a

3 a :communication for establishing and maintaining mutual understanding and cooperation (as between parts of an armed force)

b :a person who establishes and maintains communication for mutual understanding and cooperation

a press liaison

4 :the pronunciation of an otherwise absent consonant sound at the end of the first of two consecutive words the second of which begins with a vowel sound and follows without pause

See liaison defined for English-language learners

See liaison defined for kids

liaison was our Word of the Day on 08/16/2013. Hear the podcast!

Examples of liaison in a Sentence

Today's army works on rotations; soldiers are deployed for about a year and then (in principle at least) they come home. When that happens, local liaisons and intelligence relationships must be rebuilt. —James K. Galbraith, Mother Jones, March/April 2006
I had known Korologos when I was Solicitor General, and he was the Nixon White House's liaison to the Senate. He was a great support. —Robert H. Bork, The Tempting of America, 1990
Gossip columnists began to infer from Evelyn's disappearances that she was engaging in reckless liaisons, and her name was linked with dozens of men around town. —E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime, (1974) 1975
She acts as a liaison between the police department and city schools.
Administrators need to maintain better liaison with employees.
Administrators need to establish a close liaison with employees.
He regretted his liaison with a woman from the office.

Recent Examples of liaison from the Web

The newest appointee to L.A.’s Board of Public Works, Rivas is the liaison to the bureaus of street lighting and engineering.

— julia herbst, Los Angeles Magazine, "11 Women Who Are Making L.A. a Better Place," 17 Aug. 2017
Before their son joined the transplant list, Kevin and Teryl sat with their social worker, their financial liaison and a transplant coordinator, outlining why a 4-year-old deserved a kidney that worked.

— alden woods, azcentral, "$200 from home: Renters in the housing crisis are often stuck between help and affordability," 17 Aug. 2017
Richard Cardillo, the officer liaison to the basketball team.

— craig whitlock, chicagotribune.com, "FBI probed complaints that Bobby Knight groped women at U.S. spy agency," 7 July 2017
Nothern has been his main liaison with the public on the health care debate, often to the frustration of those who want to speak to the senator directly.

— bill dentzer, idahostatesman, "Moms take health care concerns to Crapo. ‘If he doesn’t vote no ... he’s not listening.’," 6 July 2017
In the AP interview, Kaspersky acknowledged employing ex-Russian intelligence workers, primarily as sales staff in government liaison roles.

— david z. morris, Fortune, "Russian Cybersecurity CEO Offers Source Code for U.S. Inspection," 2 July 2017
Harrison Morson and Larry Orwig, both members of the Glenwood Lions Club, are the Leo Club liaisons.

— Howard County Times, "Leo Clubs roar with pride over many accomplishments [Glenwood/Glenelg/Dayton," 29 June 2017
Juan Sanchez, Miami Beach police’s LGBT liaison, told a community board following the collapse of the OutGames.

— joey flechas and steve rothaus, miamiherald, "Miami Beach lost $200K in World OutGames debacle. Now it wants to rethink large grants to private organizations.," 29 June 2017
Here's how to try it in Kentucky More: Here's a list of the hottest books of the summer, according to Carmichael's Bookstore Burney also worked as a volunteer Jefferson County Courthouse liaison for 30 years.

— sheldon s. shafer, The Courier-Journal, "Founder of annual MLK motorcade, George L. Burney Sr. dies," 28 June 2017

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

Did You Know?

If you took French in school, you might remember that liaison is the term for the phenomenon that causes a silent consonant at the end of one word to sound like it begins the next word when that word begins with a vowel, so that a phrase like beaux arts sounds like "bo zart." We can thank French for the origin of the term, as well. Liaison derives from the Middle French lier, meaning "to bind or tie," and is related to our word liable. Our various English senses of liaison apply it to all kinds of bonds-from people who work to connect different groups to the kind of relationship sometimes entered into by two people who are attracted to one another.

Origin and Etymology of liaison

French, from Middle French, from lier, from Old French

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1648

See Words from the same year

liaison Synonyms

Synonyms

affinity, association, bearing, kinship, connection, linkage, relation, relationship

Antonyms

disaffiliation, dissociation

Related Words

correlation, interrelation; materiality, pertinence, relevance; bond, link, tie; affiliation, alliance, union; identicalness, sameness; alikeness, community, likeness, resemblance, similarity; accordance, agreement, conformity, congruity, correspondence

Near Antonyms

variability, variance; incompatibility, incongruence, incongruity, incongruousness

LIAISON Defined for English Language Learners

liaison

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noun

Definition of liaison for English Language Learners

: a person who helps organizations or groups to work together and provide information to each other
: a relationship that allows different organizations or groups to work together and provide information to each other
: a secret sexual relationship