liaison

noun

li·ai·son lē-ˈā-ˌzän

ˈlē-ə-ˌzän

nonstandard

ˈlā-ə-

Synonyms of liaison next

: a binding or thickening agent used in cooking

a butter and flour liaison

: a close bond or connection : interrelationship

: an illicit sexual relationship : affair sense 3a

: communication for establishing and maintaining mutual understanding and cooperation (as between parts of an armed force)

: a person who establishes and maintains communication for mutual understanding and cooperation

a press liaison

: the pronunciation of an otherwise absent consonant sound at the end of the first of two consecutive words the second of which begins with a vowel sound and follows without pause

Did you know?

If you took French in school, you might remember that liaison is the word for the phenomenon that causes a silent consonant at the end of one word to sound like it begins the next word when that word begins with a vowel, so that a phrase like beaux arts sounds like \boh zahr\. We can thank French for the origin of the term, as well. Liaison comes from Middle French lier, meaning "to bind or tie." Other English senses of liaison apply it to all kinds of bonds—from people who work to connect different groups to the kind of relationship sometimes entered into by two people who are attracted to one another.

Examples of liaison in a Sentence

Today's army works on rotations; soldiers are deployed for about a year and then (in principle at least) they come home. When that happens, local liaisons and intelligence relationships must be rebuilt. —

James K. Galbraith, Mother Jones, March/April 2006

I had known Korologos when I was Solicitor General, and he was the Nixon White House's liaison to the Senate. He was a great support. —

Robert H. Bork, The Tempting of America, 1990

Gossip columnists began to infer from Evelyn's disappearances that she was engaging in reckless liaisons, and her name was linked with dozens of men around town. —

E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime, (1974) 1975

She acts as a liaison between the police department and city schools. Administrators need to maintain better liaison with employees. Administrators need to establish a close liaison with employees. He regretted his liaison with a woman from the office.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Sifakis’s resume includes as stint as assistant to the president and director of the office of public liaison during the first Trump administration. —

Taylor Giorno, The Hill, 12 Dec. 2024 Meyer was not the only high-level industry executive to fall because of an affair with Kirk: A year earlier, THR had revealed that Kevin Tsujihara, the married CEO of Warner Bros., engaged in a liaison with her and then pushed his subordinates to find her acting roles. —

Kim Masters, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Dec. 2024 James Braid, who was Vance's deputy chief of staff in the Senate, will be the White House's formal liaison to Congress. —

Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 7 Dec. 2024 After hearing about Patel’s work on terrorism prosecutions and as a legal liaison to Joint Special Operations Command, Nunes offered him a staff job on the Russia probe. —

Brian Bennett, TIME, 5 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for liaison