consortium
Americannoun
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consortia,
plural
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consortiums
plural
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a combination of financial institutions, capitalists, etc., for carrying into effect some financial operation requiring large resources of capital.
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any association, partnership, or union.
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Law. the legal right of partners in a marriage to companionship and conjugal intercourse with each other.
In a wrongful death action the surviving spouse commonly seeks damages for loss of consortium.
noun
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an association of financiers, companies, etc, esp one formed for a particular purpose
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law the right of husband or wife to the company, assistance, and affection of the other
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of consortium
1820–30; < Latin: partnership, equivalent to consort- consort + -ium -ium
Explanation
Consortium is a fancy word for a group you form for an enterprise beyond what any one member could do alone. All the grocery stores in your neighborhood might form a consortium for the promotion of local strawberries. Consortium comes from the verb consort, which means "to accompany or associate." Consortium used to mean "fellowship, participation, society," but these days you're more likely to hear consortium for an association of different institutions like schools or companies than, say, a consortium of philosophical frog lovers. Still, consortiums usually preserve the ideals of fellowship, with every member institution chipping in to reach a common goal.
Vocabulary lists containing consortium
The Boys in the Boat
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 25
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The Gene
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The consortium was tasked with designing, building and financing the project, and operating and maintaining the people mover for 25 years after its completion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
"The consortium partners will work with FSG and the club's leadership team to evaluate opportunities that enhance the club's objectives on and off the pitch," it added.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
According to reports, the stake acquired by the consortium is around one-third of the club.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
The consortium is acquiring about a 33% stake in Liverpool in a deal that values the Premier League team at more than $7 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
While attempting to isolate enough of the compounds in the cockroaches, an international consortium of scientists develops revolutionary technologies to increase the size of the cockroaches through genetic manipulation.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
But consortia funding these projects include publicly traded companies.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
Financial institutions are now forming consortia for cross-border settlement.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 16, 2026
ChatGPT maker OpenAI said earlier this year that it had submitted expressions of interest to join consortia for the projects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
The consortia that oversee shipping include companies from numerous other countries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2025
Later-life outcomes were mostly studied with genetic summary information from large independent consortia.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 1, 2024
Representatives of the three bidding consortiums each placed their bids for the 75 percent stake on offer in a transparent box.
From Barron's ● Dec. 23, 2025
The legacy media is facing all kinds of financial reversals, and I think it’s tied up in the ownership of a lot of papers by big corporate consortiums who have to worry about their shareholders.
From Slate ● Dec. 11, 2024
“Should there be need for more capital, he’s somebody who’s very adept at putting consortiums together.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 16, 2024
Those companies formed consortiums with PGZ and its subsidiaries, which signed the final deal with the Polish government, he said.
From Reuters ● May 29, 2023
Ex-Worcester Warriors director of rugby Steve Diamond is at the head of one of the two main consortiums looking to take over at Sixways.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2022
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
