member
Pluralmembers
- 1A person who belongs to a group, club, or organization.
Like one player who belongs to a sports team.
Every member of the club paid a small fee.
The new members met one another for the first time today.
UsageSay a member of a club.
Note
- 2
- 3One of the things that belong to a set or group.
Like one toy that belongs inside a particular box.
Each member of the set is a whole number.
The number five is a member of that group.
Similarelement
Note
Less common meanings
- 4In computer programs, a piece of data or an action that belongs to a class or to the objects made from it.
Like a drawer inside a cabinet that holds one part of what the object knows.
Each member of the class stores part of the object's data.
The programmer added a new member to the object.
Note
- 5A limb or organ of the body that does a particular job.
For as we haue many members in one body, and all members haue not the same office:
1611, The Holy Bible, King James VersionSimilarlimb
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- 10In Australia, the official who hears and decides cases in a tribunal, for example about shopping or renting problems.
Like a referee who decides which side is right.
The member heard both sides before ruling.
She took her complaint to the tribunal, and a member decided it in a week.
Similarjudge, adjudicator
Note
- 11A separate part of a sentence, speech or line of poetry, such as a clause.
Practice
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Origin
It comes from Latin membrum, meaning 'limb' or 'body part', and reached English through Old French.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Member ultimately comes from Latin membrum, meaning 'limb' or 'body part'. en.wiktionary.org
- The word reached English through Old French. en.wiktionary.org