member

If you're a member, you belong to a group or club. The late comedian Groucho Marx famously said, "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member." Go figure.

When an object, like a plant or an element, is a member, it's also part of a group or class. A tiger, for example, is a member of the genus called Panthera, and it's also a member of the cat family. You're a member of the human species, and if you swim competitively, you're also a member of a swim team. The United States is a member, along with 192 other countries, of the United Nations. The Latin root of member is membrum, "part," and also "limb or part of the body."

Primary Meanings of member

1.
 n
anything that belongs to a set or class
2.
 n
an external body part that projects from the body
Full Definitions of member
1

n anything that belongs to a set or class

“snakes are members of the class Reptilia”
“members of the opposite sex”
Type of:
component, component part, constituent, moiety, part, portion
something determined in relation to something that includes it

n one of the persons who compose a social group (especially individuals who have joined and participate in a group organization)

“only members will be admitted”
“a member of the faculty”
“she was introduced to all the members of his family”
Synonyms:
fellow member
Antonyms:
nonmember
a person who is not a member
Types:
show 34 types...
hide 34 types...
Areopagite
a member of the council of the Areopagus
brother
a male person who is a fellow member (of a fraternity or religion or other group)
cabalist
a member of a cabal
charter member
one of the original members when an organization was founded
commissioner
a member of a commission
committee member
a member of a committee
council member, councillor
a member of a council
Conservative
a member of a Conservative Party
fellow
a member of a learned society
homeboy
a fellow male member of a youth gang
homegirl
a fellow female member of a youth gang
huddler
a member of a huddle
inductee
a person inducted into an organization or social group
joiner
a person who likes to join groups
kibbutznik
a member of a kibbutz
kolkhoznik
a member of a kolkhoz
board member
a member of a governing board
clan member, clansman, clanswoman
a member of a clan
club member
someone who is a member of a club
pledge
someone accepted for membership but not yet fully admitted to the group
Rosicrucian
a member of a secret 17th-century society of philosophers and scholars versed in mystical and metaphysical and alchemical lore
Rosicrucian
a member of any of various organizations that subsequently derived from the 17th-century society
Rotarian
a member of a Rotary Club
sister
a female person who is a fellow member of a sorority or labor union or other group
sodalist
a member of a sodality
tribesman
someone who lives in a tribe
committeeman
a man who is a member of committee
committeewoman
a woman who is a member of a committee
councilman
a man who is a council member
councilwoman
a woman who is a council member
director
member of a board of directors
Freemason, Mason
a member of a widespread secret fraternal order pledged to mutual assistance and brotherly love
regent, trustee
members of a governing board
Beguine
(Roman Catholic Church) a member of a lay sisterhood (one of several founded in the Netherlands in the 12th and 13th centuries); though not taking religious vows the sisters followed an austere life
Type of:
associate
a person who joins with others in some activity or endeavor

n an organization that is a member of another organization (especially a state that belongs to a group of nations)

“the library was a member of the interlibrary loan association”
“Canada is a member of the United Nations”
Type of:
social unit, unit
an organization regarded as part of a larger social group
2

n an external body part that projects from the body

Synonyms:
appendage, extremity
Types:
show 27 types...
hide 27 types...
chelicera
either of the first pair of fang-like appendages near the mouth of an arachnid; often modified for grasping and piercing
mouthpart
any part of the mouth of an insect or other arthropod especially one adapted to a specific way of feeding
fang
an appendage of insects that is capable of injecting venom; usually evolved from the legs
chela, claw, nipper, pincer
a grasping structure on the limb of a crustacean or other arthropods
parapodium
one of a pair of fleshy appendages of a polychete annelid that functions in locomotion and breathing
fin
organ of locomotion and balance in fishes and some other aquatic animals
pleopod, swimmeret
one of the paired abdominal appendages of certain aquatic crustaceans that function primarily for carrying the eggs in females and are usually adapted for swimming
limb
one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
dactyl, digit
a finger or toe in human beings or corresponding body part in other vertebrates
toxicognath
either of a pair of poison fangs in the modified front pair of legs of the centipede
hind limb, hindlimb
a posterior appendage such as a leg or the homologous structure in other animals
forelimb
the front limb (or the homologous structure in other animals, such as a flipper or wing)
flipper
the flat broad limb of aquatic animals specialized for swimming
dorsal fin
unpaired median fin on the backs of fishes and some other aquatic vertebrates that help to maintain balance
pectoral fin
either of a pair of fins situated just behind the head in fishes that help control the direction of movement
pelvic fin, ventral fin
either of a pair of fins attached to the pelvic girdle in fishes that help control the direction of movement; correspond to hind limbs of a land vertebrate
caudal fin, tail fin
the tail of fishes and some other aquatic vertebrates
leg
a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle
crus
the leg from the knee to foot
leg
a structure in animals that is similar to a human leg and used for locomotion
thigh
the part of the leg between the hip and the knee
arm
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
cubitus
the arm from the elbow to the fingertips
forearm
the part of the superior limb between the elbow and the wrist
minimus
the fifth digit; the little finger or little toe
finger
any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
toe
one of the digits of the foot
Type of:
external body part
any body part visible externally

n the male organ of copulation (`member' is a euphemism)

Synonyms:
penis
Types:
micropenis, microphallus
an abnormally small penis
Type of:
erectile organ
an organ containing erectile tissue

Sign up, it's free!

Whether you're a student, an educator, or a lifelong learner, Vocabulary.com can put you on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.