Definition

1. Noun:
   • A legal business structure: A formal arrangement where two or more parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests, typically by sharing in the profits and losses of a business venture.
   • A cooperative relationship: A state of being partners, involving joint responsibility and collaboration between people or groups to achieve a common goal.

Usage

• As a subject: "A successful partnership requires trust and clear communication."
• As an object: "They decided to form a partnership to launch the new restaurant."
• With prepositions: "She went into partnership with her colleague." / "The project was done in partnership with a local NGO."

Examples

• Business context:
  • The law firm was established as a partnership between three attorneys.
  • He dissolved the partnership after five years due to differing visions.
• Collaborative context:
  • The partnership between the university and the tech company led to several innovations.
  • International partnerships are crucial for addressing climate change.

Advanced Usage

• "Limited partnership (LP)": A partnership where some partners (limited partners) have limited liability and are not involved in management, while at least one partner (general partner) has unlimited liability and manages the business.
  • He invested as a silent partner in a limited partnership.
• "Strategic partnership": A long-term, high-level alliance between organizations to achieve shared objectives.
  • The strategic partnership aims to dominate the emerging market.

Variants and Related Words

• Partner (n/v): A person who shares or is associated with another in an activity; to act as a partner.
  • She is my business partner. / They agreed to partner on the new initiative.
• Partnership agreement (n): The legal contract that outlines the terms of a partnership.
  • The partnership agreement specified the profit-sharing ratio.

Synonyms

• Alliance: A union or association formed for mutual benefit.
• Collaboration: The action of working with someone to produce something.
• Consortium: An association of several companies for a common purpose.

Related Phrases

• To enter into a partnership: To formally begin a partnership arrangement.
  • The two designers entered into a partnership to combine their brands.
• To dissolve a partnership: To formally end a partnership.
  • They had to dissolve the partnership amicably.

Idioms

• A marriage of convenience (figurative): A partnership or alliance based on practical rather than emotional reasons.
  • The corporate merger was less a romantic union and more a marriage of convenience.

Noun

1. a contract between two or more persons who agree to pool talent and money and share profits or losses
2. a cooperative relationship between people or groups who agree to share responsibility for achieving some specific goal
   • effective language learning is a partnership between school, teacher and student
   • the action teams worked in partnership with the government
3. the members of a business venture created by contract