member

noun

mem·​ber ˈmem-bər 

often attributive

1

: a body part or organ: such as

a

: limb

b

: penis

c

: a unit of structure in a plant body

2

: one of the individuals composing a group

3

: a person baptized or enrolled in a church

4

: a part of a whole: such as

a

: a syntactic or rhythmic unit of a sentence : clause

b

: one of the propositions of a syllogism

c

: one of the elements of a set or class

d

: either of the equated elements in a mathematical equation

Synonyms

• building block
• component
• constituent
• element
• factor
• ingredient

Choose the Right Synonym for member

part, portion, piece, member, division, section, segment, fragment mean something less than the whole.

part is a general term appropriate when indefiniteness is required.

they ran only part of the way

portion implies an assigned or allotted part.

cut the pie into six portions

piece applies to a separate or detached part of a whole.

a puzzle with 500 pieces

member suggests one of the functional units composing a body.

a structural member

division applies to a large or diversified part.

the manufacturing division of the company

section applies to a relatively small or uniform part.

the entertainment section of the newspaper

segment applies to a part separated or marked out by or as if by natural lines of cleavage.

the retired segment of the population

fragment applies to a part produced by or as if by breaking off.

only a fragment of the play still exists

Examples of member in a Sentence

The club has 300 members.

She is a member of the House of Representatives.

She is a member of Parliament.

a member of the audience

This bird is a member of the finch family.

countries that are members of the United Nations

a horizontal member of a bridge

Recent Examples on the Web

In exchange, Trump has included Kennedy as member of his transition team and now the potential lead health official in his second White House term. —Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY, 18 Dec. 2024

There are many problems with this movie, but none greater than the lack of any real conflict in more than 200 years in the life of a robot named Andrew and the wealthy San Francisco family that owns him but thinks of him as a family member, little drama enters any of their lives. —Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Dec. 2024

Trump gave Johnson his stamp of approval in front of the GOP members after the election. —Emily Brooks, The Hill, 17 Dec. 2024

At least seven Liberal members of parliament have publicly called on Trudeau to step down, and more have done so privately according to sources, CNN-affiliate CBC News reported. —Lex Harvey, CNN, 17 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English membre, from Anglo-French, from Latin membrum; akin to Goth mimz flesh, Greek mēros thigh

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing member

• charter member
• co-member
• founding member
• multi-member constituency
• multi-member district
• private member
• private member's bill
• service member
• single-member constituency
• single-member district
• web member

Kids Definition

member

noun

mem·​ber ˈmem-bər 

1

: a part (as an arm, leg, leaf, or branch) of an animal or plant

2

: one of the individuals or units of a group or organization

a club member

3

: a part of a whole and especially of a structure

a horizontal member of a bridge

4

a

: the whole expression on one side or the other of a mathematical equation or inequality

b

: element sense 2b

Medical Definition

member

noun

mem·​ber ˈmem-bər 

: a body part or organ

the thyroid gland may be the offending member

—H. A. Overstreet

: as

a

: limb

b

: penis