Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A close association of nations or other groups, formed to advance common interests or causes.
  • noun A formal agreement establishing such an association, especially an international treaty of friendship.
  • noun A connection based on kinship, marriage, or common interest; a bond or tie.
  • noun A long-term association of two or more animals of the same species, in which members cooperate for a purpose such as gaining access to mates or defending territory.
  • noun Close similarity in nature or type; affinity.
  • noun The act of becoming allied or the condition of being allied.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To unite by confederacy; join in alliance; ally.
  • noun The state of being allied or connected; the relation between parties allied or connected.
  • noun Connection by kindred.
  • noun Union between nations, contracted by compact, treaty, or league. Such alliance may be defensive, that is, an agreement to defend each other when attacked; or offensive, that is, an agreement to make a combined attack on another nation; or it may be both offensive and defensive.
  • noun Any joining of efforts or interests by persons, families, states, or organizations: as, an alliance between church and state.
  • noun The compact or treaty which is the instrument of allying or confederating: as, to draw up an alliance.
  • noun The aggregate of persons or parties allied.
  • noun In botany, a grade intermediate between class and order: the equivalent in Lindley's classification of the more recent term cohort.
  • noun In zoology, a natural group of related families; a superfamily or suborder.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To connect by alliance; to ally.
  • noun The state of being allied; the act of allying or uniting; a union or connection of interests between families, states, parties, etc., especially between families by marriage and states by compact, treaty, or league
  • noun Any union resembling that of families or states; union by relationship in qualities; affinity.
  • noun The persons or parties allied.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable The state of being allied.
  • noun countable The act of allying or uniting.
  • noun countable A union or connection of interests between families, states, parties, etc., especially between families by marriage and states by compact, treaty, or league.
  • noun countable Any union resembling that of families or states; union by relationship in qualities; affinity.
  • noun The persons or parties allied.
  • verb obsolete To connect or unite by alliance; to ally.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the act of forming an alliance or confederation
  • noun the state of being allied or confederated
  • noun a formal agreement establishing an association or alliance between nations or other groups to achieve a particular aim
  • noun a connection based on kinship or marriage or common interest
  • noun an organization of people (or countries) involved in a pact or treaty

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French aliance, from alier, to ally; see ally.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French aliance (French: alliance).

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Examples

  • For my part, I have to say that whether there be such an alliance depends, so far as I know, upon what may be a right definition of the term “alliance.

    Speech of Hon. Abraham Lincoln in Reply to Senator Douglas 1897

  • In a letter to the Vienna Tageblatt, he advocates an economic alliance among the Continental nations for the purpose of barring out American goods, an economic alliance, in his own language, "_which may possibly and desirably develop into a political alliance_."

    War of the Classes Jack London 1896

  • In announcing Key's visit, the White House said the leaders would discuss "the close friendship and partnership between our two countries" -- a sign of growing ties, but a notch below using the term alliance.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • You know there's going to be a showdown over some communications technology issue when Google, Best Buy, Mitsubishi, Sony, TiVo and two other big companies start a new group with the word "alliance" in it.

    Wired Top Stories Matthew Lasar 2011

  • You know there's going to be a showdown over some communications technology issue when Google, Best Buy, Mitsubishi, Sony, TiVo and two other big companies start a new group with the word "alliance" in it.

    Ars Technica Matthew Lasar 2011

  • Lavrov said NATO should commit to "legally binding" security arrangements through the Vienna-based OSCE to cure what he called the alliance's appetite "for more and more scenarios" of unilateral actions.

    The BEING HAD Times 2009

  • Lavrov said NATO should commit to "legally binding" security arrangements through the Vienna-based OSCE to cure what he called the alliance's appetite "for more and more scenarios" of unilateral actions.

    MosNews.com - Main 2009

  • The success of the EMERJ alliance is part of the new organizing: taking local efforts, creating a national anchor team and alliance, and building a base that is truly connected to the grassroots through deep social, cultural, and community ties.

    Taj James: Movement Building and Deep Change: A Call to Mobilize Strong and Weak Ties Taj James 2010

  • The success of the EMERJ alliance is part of the new organizing: taking local efforts, creating a national anchor team and alliance, and building a base that is truly connected to the grassroots through deep social, cultural, and community ties.

    Taj James: Movement Building and Deep Change: A Call to Mobilize Strong and Weak Ties Taj James 2010

  • Rustin's internal commitment to non-violence and his ability to work in alliance led him to do two critical pieces of organizing.

    Taj James: Movement Building and Deep Change: A Call to Mobilize Strong and Weak Ties Taj James 2010

Comments

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  • "I never credited the Alliance with an overabundance of brains..." - Mal, Serenity

    December 18, 2007