coalition
/koʊ.əˈlɪʃ.ən/
Frequency: 4.23 in modern English
Meaning
noun
A temporary group or union of organizations, usually formed for a particular advantage.
Countable; Uncountable
name
Ellipsis of Coalition of the Liberal Party and National Party, the Liberal-National coalition.
Australian usage
name
Ellipsis of Coalition of the Willing (“the coalition of nations operating under United States command against Iraq, in the U.S.-Iraq War (Gulf War II; "Iraq War") and its aftermath”).
American usage
name
Any of several series of nations allied against France in the Napoleonic Wars; in the War of the First Coalition, War of the Second Coalition, etc.
name
The Coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party, emphasising its pro-coal policies.
Australian usage; Derogatory; Slang
Example Sentences
- "The Liberal Democrats and Conservative parties formed a coalition government in 2010."
- "At a time when Mr. Cameron is being squeezed from both sides — from the right by members of his own party and by the anti-immigrant, anti-Europe U.K. Independence Party, and from the left by his Liberal Democrat coalition partners — the move seemed uncharacteristically clunky."
- "In a quirk of German politics, the governing coalitions are often given names. The previous coalition government, headed by the SPD (red), included the Green Party (green) and Liberal Party (yellow) - together they were known as the “traffic light” coalition."
- "Sometimes the ante is upped, the gaggle of bowlers all working on their batsman in turn, like a coalition of cheetahs singling out a vulnerable gazelle, sending their distinctive balls down until the pressure forces a mistake or the batsman gets his own back by smashing a bad ball over everyone’s heads."
- "Majed Sultan Ali was on his second visit to the game reserve in a bid to photograph a coalition of cheetahs."
- "This is the incredible moment a juvenile ostrich attempts to outrun a coalition of cheetahs that forms a central part of the latest BBC programme to be presented by Sir David Attenborough."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: coalitiō, coalitus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /koʊ.əˈlɪʃ.ən/
- British English: /kəʊ.əˈlɪʃ.ən/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- Australian usage
- American usage
- Derogatory
- Slang