consortium
- 01 C1 Advanced
a group of companies or banks that join together to complete a big project or business deal.
an association of several business entities or financial institutions formed to engage in a joint venture or large-scale project.
Simple“A consortium of international banks provided the funding for the new airport.”
In context“The construction of the transcontinental pipeline was managed by a consortium of three major energy firms and several smaller engineering contractors.”
UsageOften used with 'of' followed by the members of the group.
Synonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
a group of universities, libraries, or other non-business groups that share information or costs.
a collaborative arrangement among non-commercial institutions, such as universities or libraries, to share resources or research.
Simple“The university consortium allows students to borrow books from any member library.”
In context“A research consortium was established between five European universities to investigate the long-term effects of microplastics in the ocean.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
the legal right of a husband or wife to have a normal relationship with their partner.
the legal right of one spouse to the company, affection, and assistance of the other.
Simple“The lawyer argued that the accident had caused a loss of consortium for the victim's husband.”
In context“In personal injury litigation, damages may be sought for loss of consortium if the injury severely impairs the marital relationship.”
UsageAlmost exclusively used in the phrase 'loss of consortium'.
- 04 C2 Proficiency
a group of different tiny organisms that live together and help each other.
a group of two or more microbial species living in a symbiotic relationship.
Simple“The soil contains a complex consortium of bacteria that helps plants grow.”
In context“The degradation of the pollutant was achieved by a microbial consortium rather than a single isolated strain.”
“Liverpool's owners agree to sell about a third of the club to a consortium including billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos - in a deal that values the Reds at more than £5bn.”
“Sainsbury's highlighted recent British Retail Consortium figures showing 1,600 daily incidents of violence and abuse against shopworkers nationwide, up significantly from 455 a day in 2019-20.”
Learned borrowing from Latin cōnsortium.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.