name, noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A group or association mainly of tradespeople made up of merchants, craftspeople, or artisans, particularly in the Middle Ages, established to oversee and protect their specific commercial interests and to provide mutual aid.

   "The swinging of its censers, the silence of its members / Oh, the Guild of Mute Assassins"

2. 2
   a formal association of people with similar interests wordnet
3. 3
   A corporation.
4. 4
   A group of diverse species that share common characteristics or habits.
5. 5
   An organized group of players who regularly play together in a multiplayer game.

Proper Noun

1. 1
   A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms

associateassociationbrotherhoodclubclubcongress

Example

More examples

"The guild leader relegated Vince to a lesser officer because he was abusing his power."

Etymology

From Middle English gilde, from Old Norse gildi (“payment, guild”). Related to geld, yield, yauld.

Related phrases

altar guildguild hallmiddle ages

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.