What does "syndicate" mean?
A group of individuals or companies formed to transact some specific business, or to promote a common interest; a self-coordinating group.
Syndicate
/ˈsɪndɪkət/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A group of individuals or companies formed to transact some specific business, or to promote a common interest; a self-coordinating group.
- Grammar: syndicate is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: consortium, pool, add, advisory body.
- Useful contrasts: centralize, defund, disband.
- Usage evidence: The prize was divided equally among the ten syndicate members.
How to use "syndicate"
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- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "syndicate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "syndicate" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A group of individuals or companies formed to transact some specific business, or to promote a common interest; a self-coordinating group.
"a gambling syndicate"
- 2 an association of companies for some definite purpose wordnet
- 3 A group of individuals or companies formed to transact some specific business, or to promote a common interest; a self-coordinating group.; A group of gangsters engaged in organized crime.
"Held at the estate of Mafia boss Joseph Barbara in Apalachin, NY, the meeting called by [Vito] Genovese in November 1957 brought over 100 mobsters from around the country to cement his power over the national crime syndicate."
- 4 a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities wordnet
- 5 A group of individuals or companies formed to transact some specific business, or to promote a common interest; a self-coordinating group.; A group of media companies, or an agency, formed to acquire content such as articles, cartoons, etc., and to publish it in multiple outlets; a chain of newspapers or other media outlets managed by such an organization.
"In the mid-1880s, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt broke into print inauspiciously as one member of the stable of writers who supplied humorous sketches and mildly sentimental or didactic squibs for S[amuel] S[idney] McClure's newspaper syndicate."
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- 6 a news agency that sells features or articles or photographs etc. to newspapers for simultaneous publication wordnet
- 7 The office or jurisdiction of a syndic; a body or council of syndics.
"The ſoveraintie lies in the Council of 200, and this Council chuſes out of its number 25, who are the leſſer Council; […] they are choſen by a ſort of ballet, ſo that it is not known for whom they give their votes, which is an effectual method to ſuppreſs factions and reſentments; ſince in a competition no man can know who voted for him or againſt him: yet the election is not ſo carried, but that the whole Town is in an intrigue concerning it: for ſince the being of the little Council leads one to the Sindicat, which is the chieffe honor of the State: this dignitie is courted here, with as active and ſolicitous an ambition as appears elſewhere for greater matters."
Verb
- 1 To become a syndicate. intransitive
"[H]e [John Guthrie McCallum] went to Los Angeles and set up a law practice. There, with three partners and a capitalization of $100,000, they syndicated under the name Palm Valley Land and Water Company in 1887."
- 2 sell articles, television programs, or photos to several publications or independent broadcasting stations wordnet
- 3 To put under the control of a group acting as a unit. transitive
"When a potential transaction has been identified by a bank, the first activity is obtaining from the potential borrower a "mandate," which is the customer's exclusive authorization to a bank to act as the syndication manager for that particular transaction and to approach other financial institutions on its behalf to raise a given amount of funds. […] A mandate letter is very similar to a standard bank commitment letter, with the exception that bank managers do not guarantee to provide the credit facility, but rather only to syndicate it on a "best efforts" basis, perhaps with a certain firm commitment assumed by them representing a portion of the required syndicated financing."
- 4 organize into or form a syndicate wordnet
- 5 To release media content through a syndicate to be broadcast or published through multiple outlets. transitive
"[I]nternational television format exchanges are providing a customizable alternative to syndicating existing TV series in foreign markets. Sixteen countries around the world have adapted So You Think You Can Dance, a reality dance competition that originated in the United States. Format changes range from using local judges and contestants to incorporating local dance styles into the competition."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 join together into a syndicate wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The prize was divided equally among the ten syndicate members."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "syndicate"?
Common synonyms include: consortium, pool, add, advisory body, affiliate, aktiebolag.
How do you use "syndicate" in a sentence?
The prize was divided equally among the ten syndicate members.
How do you pronounce "syndicate"?
Pronounced /ˈsɪndɪkət/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Anglicized from French syndicat (“office of a syndic; board of syndics; trade union”) on the basis of -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office, a group formed of people of this same office), equivalent to syndic (“syndic; representative; (especially) chief magistrate of Geneva”) + -at (“-ate”, forms nouns denoting rank or office), from Medieval Latin *syndicātus, from syndicus (“representative of a corporation or town; syndic”) (from Ancient Greek σύνδικος (súndikos, “advocate for a defendant”), from σύν (sún, “beside; with”) + δίκη (díkē, “judgment; justice”)) + -ātus (“-ate”). By surface analysis, syndic + -ate. Compare Italian sindacato (“syndicate; trade union; audit, control, supervision”), Occitan sendegat, Portuguese sindicato (“trade union”), Spanish sindicado, sindicato (“office of a syndic; syndicate; trade union”).
Etymology 2
From the noun or French syndiquer, either on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix).