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group

n. · v.
US //ˈɡɹup// UK //ɡɹˈuːp// group
  1. 1 general collection (n.)
    A1 Beginner

    a number of people or things that are together in the same place or share something in common.

    a collection of individuals or objects located, grouped, or classified together.

    Example

    A small group of students stood outside the classroom waiting for the teacher.

    Example

    The researchers divided the participants into a control group and an experimental group to test the efficacy of the new medication.
  2. 2 music band (n.)
    A2 Elementary Music

    a small number of people who play music or sing together.

    a musical ensemble, typically in popular music genres, consisting of several performers.

    Example

    Her favourite pop group is going on a world tour next summer.

    Example

    The indie group gained a massive following after their lead single went viral on several streaming platforms.
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  1. 3 business organization (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Business

    a large company that owns several smaller companies.

    a commercial organization comprising several companies or subsidiaries under a single parent entity.

    Example

    The hotel group owns over two hundred properties across Europe.

    Example

    Following the merger, the banking group restructured its international divisions to improve operational efficiency and reduce overhead costs.
  2. 4 chemistry column (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Science

    a vertical column of elements in the periodic table.

    a vertical column in the periodic table of chemical elements, where elements share similar electronic configurations.

    Example

    Elements in the same group often react in similar ways.

    Example

    The noble gases are located in group eighteen of the periodic table and are characterised by their lack of chemical reactivity.
  3. 5 mathematical set (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Math

    a set of numbers or objects that follow specific rules when you combine them.

    an algebraic structure consisting of a set equipped with an associative binary operation, an identity element, and inverse elements.

    Example

    In math class, we learned how to identify a symmetry group.

    Example

    The professor demonstrated that the set of integers under addition forms an abelian group because it satisfies the four fundamental axioms.

  4. 6 to categorize (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    to put people or things into sets based on how they are similar.

    to arrange or classify objects or individuals into categories based on shared attributes.

    Example

    The teacher asked us to group the words by their endings.

    Example

    The software allows users to group files by date, size, or file type for easier navigation and management.
  5. 7 to gather (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    to come together in one place.

    to assemble or gather in a specific location to form a cluster or unit.

    Example

    The fans started to group around the stadium entrance hours before the game.

    Example

    As the storm approached, the hikers began to group together under the rocky overhang for protection from the wind.
Origin

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *grewbʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *kruppazder. Frankish *kruppbor. Vulgar Latin *cruppus Italian gruppobor. French groupebor. ▲ Italian gruppobor. English group From French groupe (“cluster, group”), from Italian gruppo, groppo (“a knot, heap, group, bag (of money)”). In the "group theory" sense, calqued from French groupe, a term coined by the young French mathematician Évariste Galois in 1830. Cognate with German Kropf (“crop, craw, bunch”); Old English cropp, croppa (“cluster, bunch, sprout, flower, berry, ear of corn, crop”) (whence English crop); Dutch krop (“craw”), Icelandic kroppr (“hump, bunch”). Doublet of crop and croup.

Word family

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