fraternity

noun

fra·​ter·​ni·​ty frə-ˈtər-nə-tē 

plural fraternities

1

: a group of people associated or formally organized for a common purpose, interest, or pleasure: such as

a

: a fraternal order

b

: guild sense 1

c

: a men's student organization formed chiefly for social purposes having secret rites and a name consisting of Greek letters

d

: a student organization for scholastic, professional, or extracurricular activities

a debating fraternity

2

: the quality or state of being brothers : brotherliness

3

: persons of the same class, profession, character, or tastes

the racetrack fraternity

Synonyms

• association
• board
• brotherhood
• chamber
• club
• college
• congress
• consortium
• council
• fellowship
• guild
• gild
• institute
• institution
• league
• order
• organization
• society
• sodality

Examples of fraternity in a Sentence

an atmosphere of fraternity and cooperation

a firm believer in community service and a dedicated member of the local fraternity of Good Samaritans

Recent Examples on the Web

Another fraternity brother shows me photos from two nights before, when snow flurries blanketed the area at night. —Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 7 Nov. 2024

Many attendees wore their sorority or fraternity colors — a celebration of a storied strand of Black culture in America. —Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2024

In fact, no Clemson fraternity had ever taken a student from the ClemsonLIFE program. —Steve Hartman, CBS News, 25 Oct. 2024

Some have gone as far as to suggest that sororities and fraternities should be abolished altogether. —Kyle Richard, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fraternity

• inter-fraternity

Kids Definition

fraternity

noun

fra·​ter·​ni·​ty frə-ˈtər-nət-ē 

plural fraternities

1

: a social, honorary, or professional organization

especially : a social club of male college students

2

: brotherhood sense 1, brotherliness