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

According to Festa, the situation intensified when his best friend called, warning that several coaches were panicking and feared losing their jobs, and Festa's own membership could be in jeopardy as well. —Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 9 Dec. 2025

Notre Dame has refused to play in any lesser bowl game, and school leaders have been vocal in their frustrations with the CFP selection committee and the ACC, with whom Notre Dame has a long-term membership/scheduling tie-up. —Scott Soshnick, Sportico.com, 9 Dec. 2025

Ever since reforming their membership a few years back, the Globes have backed away from their particular brand of shamelessness and gotten a little bit hipper. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2025

The company delivered healthy results for the third quarter of fiscal 2026, driven in part by strength in its e-commerce business and membership growth. —Tipranks.com Staff, CNBC, 7 Dec. 2025

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