membership

noun

mem·​ber·​ship ˈmem-bər-ˌship 

plural memberships

1

: the state or status of being a member

2

: the body of members

an organization with a large membership

3

mathematics : the relation between an element of a set (see set entry 2 sense 21) or class and the set or class itself compare inclusion sense 3a

Examples of membership in a Sentence

What is the cost of a one-year membership?

Membership in the club doubled last year.

clubs that are hoping to increase their membership

The club has a large membership.

clubs that are hoping to increase their memberships

Recent Examples on the Web

The winner of the PGA Championship receives a lifetime exemption into the championship, five years of exemptions into the four majors, a five-year PGA Tour membership, and a seven-year DP World Tour membership. —Gabby Herzig, New York Times, 18 May 2026

The wider membership also includes Nandita Das and Abhay Deol. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 May 2026

Countries outside of Europe, such as Israel, participate in Eurovision because eligibility is based on European Broadcasting Union membership, not necessarily geographics. —Chloe Veltman, NPR, 16 May 2026

There’s a membership component at Fields Ranch, which has about 180 total club members, with just under half of those being locals. —Erik Matuszewski, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1614, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for membership

• authorship
• battleship
• censorship
• chairmanship
• chieftainship
• comradeship
• consulship
• craftsmanship
• dealership
• draftsmanship
• fellowship
• fingertip

Kids Definition

membership

noun

mem·​ber·​ship ˈmem-bər-ˌship 

1

: the state or status of being a member

2

: all the members of an organization