assembly

noun

as·​sem·​bly ə-ˈsem-blē 

plural assemblies

1

: a company of persons gathered for deliberation and legislation, worship, or entertainment

an assembly of religious leaders

2

capitalized : a legislative body

specifically : the lower house of a legislature

3

: a meeting of a student body and usually faculty for administrative, educational, or recreational purposes

A school assembly was held in the auditorium.

4

a

: assemblage sense 1

an assembly of well-wishers

b

: assemblage sense 2

a place of public assembly

5

: a signal for troops to assemble or fall in

6

a

: the fitting together of manufactured parts into a complete machine, structure, or unit of a machine

the assembly of an automobile

b

: a collection of parts so assembled

7

: the translation of assembly language to machine language by an assembler

Synonyms

• assemblage
• conference
• congregation
• convocation
• gathering
• ingathering
• meeting
• muster

Examples of assembly in a Sentence

The parts are made in this factory and then shipped to another country for assembly.

the New York State Assembly

an assembly of armed men

School assemblies were usually held in the cafeteria.

Recent Examples on the Web

There, technicians are busy completing its assembly in preparation for its launch in May 2027 to a spot in space close to 1 million miles from Earth. —Jeffrey Kluger/greenbelt, TIME, 8 Feb. 2025

City residents started notifying officials in early-to-mid December about water discolorations, largely over one weekend, which led to assembly of the WRT. —Chuck Rupnow, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025

Zoom out: What that means is that the 25% tariffs won't just be payable on full vehicles that have their final assembly in Mexico, like the Chevrolet Equinox or the Ford Maverick. —Felix Salmon, Axios, 2 Feb. 2025

Tariffs would especially hamper the auto industry, which imports raw materials from Mexico to make parts that are then shipped back to that country for vehicle assembly, Gary Hufbauer, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics previously told USA TODAY. —Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English asemble, assemble "gathering, meeting, group gathered for a purpose, as a deliberative body," borrowed from Anglo-French asemblee, assemblee, noun derivative from feminine past participle of asembler, assembler "to come together, assemble"

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing assembly

• assembly language
• assembly line
• general assembly
• house of assembly
• legislative assembly
• pre-assembly
• self-assembly

Kids Definition

assembly

noun

as·​sem·​bly ə-ˈsem-blē 

plural assemblies

1

: a body of persons gathered together (as to make laws or for discussion, worship, or entertainment)

2

capitalized : a governing body

especially : the lower house of a legislature

3

: the act of gathering together or state of being assembled

4

: a signal for troops to assemble

5

: a collection of parts that go to make up a complete machine, structure, or unit of a machine

6

: the translation of assembly language to machine language by an assembler

7

: a meeting of a student body and usually teachers for educational or recreational purposes

Legal Definition

assembly

noun

as·​sem·​bly

plural assemblies

1

a

: a company of persons collected together in one place usually for some common purpose

b

capitalized : a legislative body especially that makes up the lower house of a legislature see also general assembly, legislative assembly

2

: the act of coming together : the condition of being assembled see also unlawful assembly