DictionaryAI

relationship

noun
ri-LAY-shuhn-ship/ɹɪˈleɪ.ʃənˌʃɪp/

Pluralrelationships

4 meanings of relationship

Practice

  1. 1
    bondnouncountable
    The way two or more people interact with and relate to one another.

    The relationship between the two sisters improved once they lived apart.

    Years of working together shaped the relationship among the team members.

    UsageUsually a relationship between or among people, or with someone: a good relationship with your boss.

    Similarrapport, bond, dynamic

    Note

    A good working relationship with a boss shows the pattern: this sense is usually described by its quality, from good to strained, passive-aggressive or quietly contentious. Unlike the romantic sense, it implies nothing intimate.

  2. 2
    romancenouncountable
    A romantic or sexual involvement between two people.

    After months of dating, they decided to make their relationship official.

    He kept the relationship secret from his coworkers.

    UsageIn a relationship on its own means part of a couple; no adjective such as romantic is needed. Often in a relationship with someone.

    Similarromance, affair, liaison

  3. 3
    how things connectnouncountable or uncountable
    A connection or association between two or more things, or the way they are related, such as how one quantity changes with another or how musical keys are linked.

    The study revealed a strong relationship between income and education.

    Economists examined the relationship between prices and demand in rural markets.

    UsageUsually a relationship between X and Y; words like close, strong or complex describe the link.

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    nouncountable or uncountable
    Kinship; the state of being related by blood or marriage.

    The census recorded each person's relationship to the head of the household.

    Church records showed no relationship between the two families, by blood or by marriage, until a wedding in 1852.

    UsageUsually your relationship to someone (her relationship to the bride), or a relationship between two families.

    Similarkinship

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of relationship apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Formed from 'relation' combined with the suffix '-ship'.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact