union Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an organization of employees formed to bargain with the employer
    trades union; brotherhood; labor union; trade union.
    • you have to join the union in order to get a job
  2. noun the United States (especially the northern states during the American Civil War)
    North.
    • he has visited every state in the Union
    • Lee hoped to detach Maryland from the Union
    • the North's superior resources turned the scale
  3. noun the act of pairing a male and female for reproductive purposes
    coupling; sexual union; pairing; conjugation; mating.
    • the casual couplings of adolescents
    • the mating of some species occurs only in the spring
  4. noun the state of being joined or united or linked
    unification.
    • there is strength in union
  5. noun the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
    spousal relationship; matrimony; marriage; wedlock.
    • a long and happy marriage
    • God bless this union
  6. noun healing process involving the growing together of the edges of a wound or the growing together of broken bones
    conglutination.
  7. noun a political unit formed from previously independent people or organizations
    • the Soviet Union
  8. noun a set containing all and only the members of two or more given sets
    sum; join.
    • let C be the union of the sets A and B
  9. noun the occurrence of a uniting of separate parts
    • lightning produced an unusual union of the metals
  10. noun a device on a national flag emblematic of the union of two or more sovereignties (typically in the upper inner corner)
  11. noun the act of making or becoming a single unit
    uniting; unification; jointure; conjugation.
    • the union of opposing factions
    • he looked forward to the unification of his family for the holidays
  12. adjective satellite being of or having to do with the northern United States and those loyal to the Union during the American Civil War
    Federal.
    • Union soldiers
    • Federal forces
    • a Federal infantryman
  13. adjective of trade unions
    • the union movement
    • union negotiations
    • a union-shop clause in the contract

WordNet

Un"ion noun
Etymology
F., from L. unio oneness, union, a single large pearl, a kind of onion, fr. unus one. See One, and cf. Onion, Unit.
Definitions
  1. The act of uniting or joining two or more things into one, or the state of being united or joined; junction; coalition; combination. ✍ Union differs from connection, as it implies that the bodies are in contact, without an interening body; whereas things may be connected by the invention of a third body, as by a cord or chain.
  2. Agreement and conjunction of mind, spirit, will, affections, or the like; harmony; concord.
  3. That which is united, or made one; something formed by a combination or coalition of parts or members; a confederation; a consolidated body; a league; as, the weavers have formed a union; trades unions have become very numerous; the United States of America are often called the Union. A. Hamilton.
  4. A textile fabric composed of two or more materials, as cotton, silk, wool, etc., woven together.
  5. A large, fine pearl. Obs.
    If they [pearls] be white, great, round, smooth, and weighty . . . our dainties and delicates here at Rome . . . call them unions, as a man would say "singular," and by themselves alone. Holland.
    In the cup an union shall he throw, Richer than that which four successive kings In Denmark's crown have worn. Shak.
  6. A device emblematic of union, used on a national flag or ensign, sometimes, as in the military standard of Great Britain, covering the whole field; sometimes, as in the flag of the United States, and the English naval and marine flag, occupying the upper inner corner, the rest of the flag being called the fly. Also, a flag having such a device; especially, the flag of Great Britain. ✍ The union of the United States ensign is a cluster of white stars, denoting the union of the States, and, properly, equal in number to that of the States, displayed on a blue field; the fly being composed of alternate stripes of red and white. The union of the British ensign is the three crosses of St. George, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick in combination, denoting the union of England, Scotland and Ireland, displayed on a blue field in the national banner used on shore, on a red, white, or blue field in naval ensigns, and with a white border or fly in the merchant service.
  7. (Mach.) A joint or other connection uniting parts of machinery, or the like, as the elastic pipe of a tender connecting it with the feed pipe of a locomotive engine; especially, a pipe fitting for connecting pipes, or pipes and fittings, in such a way as to facilitate disconnection.
  8. (Brewing) A cask suspended on trunnions, in which fermentation is carried on. Syn. -- Unity; junction; connection; concord; alliance; coalition; combination; confederacy. -- Union, Unity. Union is the act of bringing two or more things together so as to make but one, or the state of being united into one. Unity is a state of simple oneness, either of essence, as the unity of God, or of action, feeling, etc., as unity of design, of affection, etc. Thus, we may speak of effecting a union of interests which shall result in a unity of labor and interest in securing a given object.
    One kingdom, joy, and union without end. Milton.
    [Man] is to . . . beget Like of his like, his image multiplied. In unity defective; which requires Collateral love, and dearest amity. Milton.

Webster 1913