# union

Pronunciation: say "YOON-yuhn" /ˈjuː.njən/

## Noun

1. An organized association of workers formed to protect and advance their shared interests in dealings with employers.
   - Simple: An organized group of workers who join together to protect their rights and pay.
   - _The union negotiated a new contract with management last spring._
   - _Thousands of nurses joined the union after the dispute._
2. The United States considered as a federation of states; in particular, its federal government and the states that remained loyal to it during the American Civil War. *(US)*
   - Simple: The United States as one nation, especially its federal government and the states that remained loyal during the American Civil War.
   - _Union troops pushed south along the Mississippi in 1863, splitting the Confederacy in two._
   - _Hawaii was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth state in 1959._
3. Something formed by combining parts or members into a single body; a confederation, league, or consolidated whole.
   - Simple: A group of states, people, or things joined together to act as one.
   - _The customs union lets member countries trade goods without tariffs at their shared borders._
   - _Their merger created a union of two rival firms under one name._
4. The act of joining two or more things into one, or the state of being joined together or in agreement.
   - Simple: Joining things together so they become one, or being joined together or in agreement.
   - _The treaty brought the two kingdoms into union under a single crown._
   - _Decades of conflict gave way to a fragile union between the two communities._
5. The act or state of marriage; the joining of two people as spouses.
   - Simple: The joining of two people in marriage.
   - _The priest blessed their union before the assembled guests._
   - _Friends and family gathered at a small church by the lake to celebrate the couple's union._
7. A campus building at a college or university that houses facilities and services for student social life and recreation.
   - Simple: A building at a college or university with places and services for students to meet and relax.
   - _The campus union stays open until midnight during finals week._
   - _Most clubs hold their meetings in rooms on the union's second floor._
8. An association of university students formed for social or political purposes, sometimes serving as a debating society.
   - Simple: A club or society for students at a college, often for meeting up or debating.
   - _The university union organized concerts and societies throughout the year._
   - _He honed his speaking skills at the college union's weekly debates._
10. The set containing every element that belongs to at least one of two or more given sets.
   - Simple: A new set made by putting together all the items from two or more sets.
   - _The union of sets A and B includes every element found in either set._
   - _To compute the union, list each member that appears in at least one of the sets._
11. A joint or connecting fitting that links parts of machinery, such as two sections of pipe.
   - Simple: A part that joins two pipes or machine parts together.
   - _The fitter replaced a leaking union on the main water line._
   - _Each union in the assembly can be unscrewed for maintenance._

## Adjective

6. Belonging to, represented by, or otherwise connected with a labor union, as in union members, union rules, or union wages.
   - Simple: Connected with a workers' union or its members.
   - _The union members voted to approve the new agreement._
   - _Union wages at the plant were higher than the regional average._
9. In Indian usage, federal: belonging to or run by the national government rather than by one of the states. *(India)*
   - Simple: Belonging to India's national government, not to the government of one of its states.
   - _The Union finance minister presented the budget to Parliament this morning._
   - _The housing scheme is funded jointly by the Union and state governments._

## Noun

12. Sexual intercourse; the physical joining of two people. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Sexual joining between two people.
13. A pearl of exceptional size and quality. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A large pearl of fine quality.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To combine two or more sets into a single set using the union operation.
- (noun) A data structure able to store any of several different types of value, but only one of them at any given time.
- (noun) A group of parishes that combined to share the support and management of their poor, or the workhouse they owned together.

## Origin

Latin "ūnus" ("one") gave Late Latin "ūniō" ("oneness, unity"), which became Old French "union" and then Middle English "unyoun." A doublet of the word is "unio."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/union (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).