Association

Dictionary Definition

(often in names) a group of people organized for a joint purpose.

1. The act of consorting with or joining with others.
2. (ecology) a group of organisms (plants and animals) that live together in a certain geographical region and constitute a community with a few dominant species.
3. A formal organization of people or groups of people.
4. The process of bringing ideas or events together in memory or imagination.
5. (chemistry) any process of combination (especially in solution) that depends on relatively weak chemical bonding.
6. A social or business relationship.
7. A relation resulting from interaction or dependence.
8. The state of being connected together as in memory or imagination.

n. any group of people who have joined together for a particular purpose, ranging from social to business, and usually meant to be a continuing organization. It can be formal, with rules and/or bylaws, membership requirements and other trappings of an organization, or it can be a collection of people without structure. An association is not a legally established corporation or a partnership. To make this distinction the term “unincorporated association” is often used, although technically redundant.