union

noun

1. (countable)The act of uniting or joining two or more things into one.
2. (uncountable)The state of being united or joined; a state of unity or harmony.
3. (countable)Something united, or made one; something formed by a combination or coalition of parts or members; a confederation; a consolidated body; a league.
4. (countable)A trade union; a workers' union.

   “In the autumn there was a row at some cement works about the unskilled labour men. A union had just been started for them and all but a few joined. One of these blacklegs was laid for by a picket and knocked out of time.”

5. (countable)An association of students at a university for social and/or political purposes; also in some cases a debating body.
6. (countable)A joint or other connection uniting parts of machinery, such as pipes.
7. (countable)The set containing all of the elements of two or more sets.
8. (countable)The act or state of marriage.
9. (archaic, euphemistic, uncountable)Sexual intercourse.
10. (countable)A data structure that can store any of various types of item, but only one at a time.

    “Unions are useful in those cases where you need to keep track of a value that can be represented as different data types during the lifetime of the program.”

11. (archaic, countable)A large, high-quality pearl.

    “Nonius the senator hath a purple coat as stiff with jewels as his mind is full of vices; rings on his fingers worth 20,000 sesterces, and[…]an union in his ear worth an hundred pounds' weight of gold […]”

    “And in the cup an union shall he throw, Richer than that which four successive kings In Denmark's crown have worn.”

12. (countable, historical, uncountable)An affiliation of several parishes for joint support and management of their poor; also the jointly-owned workhouse.
13. The 0-10-2 locomotive wheel arrangement.
14. The canton of the United States flag: the portion of the flag containing stars on a blue background.

verb

1. To combine sets using the union operation.

adj

1. Belonging to, represented by, or otherwise pertaining to a labour union.

   “Actors have to be union to get work here.”

2. (India)federal.

   “The union government of India”

name

1. (US, dated, especially, obsolete)The United States of America.

   “threats to secede from the Union”

2. (US, historical)Those of the United States that did not secede at the time of the Civil War (of the United States of America).

   “Union troops at Gettysburg”

3. (historical)The Soviet Union: the proper noun Union is the standard English translation of the proper noun Союз (Sojuz), and All-Union is the standard English translation of всесоюзный (vsesojuznyj).

   “throughout the Union, but nowhere more so than at the Center [Moscow]”

4. (India, alt-of, alternative)Alternative form of union.
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38. A surname.
39. (informal)The Oxford Union (a debating society); not to be conflated with Oxford University Student Union (a students' union).