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Definition of union
1a : an act or instance of uniting or joining two or more things into one: such as (1) : the formation of a single political unit from two or more separate and independent units (2) : a uniting in marriage; also : sexual intercourse (3) : the growing together of severed partsb : a unified condition : combination, junction a gracious union of excellence and strength
2 : something that is made one : something formed by a combining or coalition of parts or members: such asa : a confederation of independent individuals (such as nations or persons) for some common purposeb (1) : a political unit constituting an organic whole formed usually from units which were previously governed separately (such as England and Scotland in 1707) and which have surrendered or delegated their principal powers to the government of the whole or to a newly created government (such as the U.S. in 1789) (2) capitalized : the federal union of states during the period of the American Civil Warc capitalized : an organization on a college or university campus providing recreational, social, cultural, and sometimes dining facilities; also : the building housing such an organizationd : the set of all elements belonging to one or more of a given collection of two or more sets —called also join, sume : labor union
3a : a device emblematic of the union of two or more sovereignties borne on a national flag typically in the upper inner corner or constituting the whole design of the flagb : the upper inner corner of a flag
4 : any of various devices for connecting parts (as of a machine); especially : a coupling for pipes or pipes and fittings
From the M-W Editors
Examples of union in a Sentence
She joined the teachers' union.
An embryo is created through the union of sperm and egg.
a perfect union of Eastern and Western music
Recent Examples of union from the Web
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The deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, a former union leader turned businessman who is seeking to succeed Mr Zuma, leads a separate faction that has called for the new charter to be reconsidered.
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A marriage that is thought of in video game terms doesn’t sound like a terribly fulfilling union of two human souls.
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The offspring of that union is what a fried biscuit tastes like.
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Lewis, nee Hurwitz, had been married briefly in her late teens, to advertising executive Stan Lewis, a union that had ended badly.
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An earlier version of this article incorrectly named the union.
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Tate would not publicly identify the 38-year-old officer, saying the union isn’t authorized to do so at this time.
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Meanwhile, though, there are millions of happily married people out there who wouldn’t trade in their unions for anything.
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Many thanks to the first unions to officially endorse!
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'union'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of union
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin union-, unio oneness, union, from Latin unus one — more at one
Other Business Terms
union
Definition of union
: of, relating to, dealing with, or constituting a union; especially, capitalized : of, relating to, or being the side favoring the Union in the American Civil War Union troops
First Known Use of union
1634
UNION Defined for English Language Learners
union
playDefinition of union for English Language Learners
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: an organization of workers formed to protect the rights and interests of its members
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: an act of joining two or more things together
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: a group of states or nations that are ruled by one government or that agree to work together
UNION Defined for Kids
union
playDefinition of union for Students
1 : an act or instance of uniting or joining two or more things into one The river is formed by the union of two tributaries.
2 : something (as a nation) formed by a combining of parts or members
3 cap : the United States
4 cap : the group of states that supported the United States government in the American Civil War
5 : a device for connecting parts (as pipes)
6 : labor union
Union
Definition of Union for Students
: relating to the group of states that supported the United States government in the American Civil War Union soldiers
Medical Dictionary
Law Dictionary
union
Legal Definition of union
1 : an act or instance of uniting or joining two or more things into one; especially : the formation of a single political unit from two or more separate and individual units
2 : something that is made one : something formed by a combining or coalition of its members: as a : a confederation of independent individuals (as nations or persons) for some common purpose b : a political unit constituting an organic whole formed usually from previously independent units (as England and Scotland in 1707) which have surrendered their principal powers to the government of the whole or to a newly created government (as the U.S. in 1789) c : labor union
Learn More about union
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for union Spanish Central: Translation of union Nglish: Translation of union for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of union for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about union
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