membership

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the body of members of an organization or group

   they polled their membership

2. 2
   noun

   The state of being a member of a group or organization.

   The terms of membership agreement were vague.

3. 3
   noun

   The body of members of an organization.

   The memberships of the state chapters elect delegates to the national convention.

4. 4
   verb

   To classify (someone) as belonging to a certain group or community.

   Whatever the topic of the conversation the speaker must ‘membership’ his listener, put him into one of two or more mutually exclusive boxes. Each time a topic changes the listener must be re-membershipped, and during a conversation the same person may be membershipped as a doctor, a rugby player, a liberal, a gardener, a bridge player.

5. 5
   noun

   the state of being a member

6. 6
   noun

   The fact of being a member of a set.

Etymology

From member + -ship.