congress

1 the highest lawmaking body of a political unit the national emergency required a special session of congress Synonyms parliament Related Words assembly, chamber, council, diet, house, legislative, legislature; general assembly, legislative assembly

2 a coming together of a number of persons for a specified purpose following World War I a great congress of world leaders took place in Paris to plan the postwar world Synonyms assembly, meeting, convention, convocation, council, gathering, get-together, huddle, powwowRelated Words clinic, workshop; cabinet, caucus, conclave, synod; demonstration, rally; confab, conversation, dialogue (also dialog), discourse, discussion, palaver, talk; negotiation, parley, summit; conference, forum, round-robin, roundtable, seminar, symposium; audience, interview, session

3 a group of persons formally joined together for some common interest the Canada Trades and Labor Congress Synonyms board, brotherhood, chamber, club, college, association, consortium, council, fellowship, fraternity, guild (also gild), institute, institution, league, order, organization, society, sodalityRelated Words collective, commune, community, cooperative; alliance, bloc, camp, coalition, partnership; body, cadre, group; circle, clan, clique, coterie, junta, junto, klatch (also klatsch), lot, set; crew, outfit, party, squad, team; branch, chapter, local; faithful, fold, membership; sisterhood, sorority; cabal, camarilla, camorra, confederacy, conspiracy; band, gang, ring; cartel, combine, syndicate

4 sexual union involving penetration of the vagina by the penis laws that once prohibited congress between people of different races Synonyms coition, coitus, commerce, sexual intercourse, copulating, copulation, coupling, intercourse, lovemaking, mating, relations, sex, sex act, sexual relationsRelated Words fornication; safe sex; carnality, sexuality; breeding, insemination; dalliance, hanky-panky, whoopee