Definition

1. Noun:

   • A collection of people or things: A number of individuals or items that are located, gathered, or classed together.
   • A set with a mathematical structure: In mathematics, a set equipped with an operation that combines any two elements to form a third, satisfying four conditions: closure, associativity, identity, and invertibility.
   • A unit within a molecule: In chemistry, a combination of atoms that behave as a single unit within a compound.

2. Verb:

   • To form into a group: To gather or arrange people or things into one or more collections.
   • To classify together: To put people or things into categories based on shared characteristics.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • A small group of students waited outside the classroom.
  • In algebra, the integers form a group under the operation of addition.
  • The hydroxyl group (-OH) is common in many organic molecules.

• Verb:

  • The teacher asked the children to group themselves by birth month.
  • We can group the survey responses into three main categories.

Advanced Usage

• "In-group": A social group to which a person psychologically identifies as being a member.

  • Employees often feel loyalty to their immediate in-group within the larger company.

• "Reference group": A group to which an individual or another group is compared.

  • Aspiring professionals often use senior managers as their reference group.

• "Group theory": The mathematical field dedicated to the study of algebraic structures known as groups.

  • Group theory has important applications in physics and chemistry.

Variants and Related Words

• Grouping (n): The action of forming a group or groups; a set of things grouped together.

  • The new seating arrangement involved the careful grouping of team members.

• Subgroup (n): A distinct group within a larger group.

  • Each department functions as a subgroup of the entire organization.

• Regroup (v): To form into a new group or to reorganize.

  • After the break, we will regroup to discuss our findings.

Synonyms

• Noun: Cluster, collection, assemblage, category, class, set, batch.
• Verb: Assemble, gather, collect, categorize, classify, sort, arrange.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Group together: To gather or combine things or people.

  • Please group together all the invoices from last month.

• Group under: To classify something within a specific heading or category.

  • These expenses can be grouped under "office supplies".

Related Idioms

• A whole different ball game / A whole new ball game: An entirely new and often more difficult situation. (While not containing "group," this idiom is often used when comparing one set of circumstances to another.)

  • Managing five people is one thing, but leading a department of fifty is a whole new ball game.

• Birds of a feather flock together: People with similar tastes, interests, or backgrounds tend to associate with one another. (This idiom describes the natural formation of groups.)

  • It's no surprise the artists all share a studio; birds of a feather flock together.

Noun

1. a set that is closed, associative, has an identity element and every element has an inverse
2. (chemistry) two or more atoms bound together as a single unit and forming part of a molecule
3. any number of entities (members) considered as a unit

Verb

1. form a group or group together
2. arrange into a group or groups
   • Can you group these shapes together?