party
noun · verb · adjective
Simple meaning
A social gathering for fun, or a group of people working together
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pahrteeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɑɹti
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
law
A person or group of people constituting one side in a legal proceeding, such as in a legal action or a contract.
An occasion on which people can assemble for social interaction and entertainment
“He planned a party to celebrate Bastille Day.”
with the and capital initial
The Communist Party, especially as the sole political party of a communist state.
A social gathering, usually of invited guests, which typically involves eating, drinking, and entertainment and often held to celebrate a particular occasion.
A group of people gathered together for pleasure
“She joined the party after dinner.”
A gathering of acquaintances so that one of them may offer items for sale to the rest of them.
verb
intransitive
To engage in flings, to have one-night stands, to sow one's wild oats.
Have or participate in a party
“The students were partying all night before the exam.”
intransitive
To celebrate at a party, to have fun, to enjoy oneself.
adjective
Favoring one party; partisan.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A person or group of people constituting one side in a legal proceeding, such as in a legal action or a contract.
Used this way, party is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a legal use: the wording is institutional and carries a defined meaning in law rather than a loose everyday one.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Law/legal
- Government/politics
- Academic writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Person or groupnoun
“She joined the party after dinner.”
Occasion / socialnoun
“He planned a party to celebrate Bastille Day.”
Participateverb
“The students were partying all night before the exam.”
More ways to use party
- “She joined the party after dinner.”noun
- “He planned a party to celebrate Bastille Day.”noun
- “In 1992 Perot tried to organize a third party at the national level.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Showing favoritism.
To some extent.
To some extent.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A former political party in the United States.
A former major political party in the United States in the early 19th century.
The oldest political party in Australia, founded in 1891.
Stag party held for a bachelor (usually on the night before he is married).
A party held on the anniversary of someone's birth.
Demonstration (1773) by citizens of Boston who (disguised as Indians) raided three British ships in Boston harbor and dumped hundreds of chests of tea into the harbor.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.