CONNECTION

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does connection mean? 

• CONNECTION (noun)
  The noun CONNECTION has 9 senses:

1. a relation between things or events (as in the case of one causing the other or sharing features with it)

2. the state of being connected

3. an instrumentality that connects

4. (usually plural) a person who is influential and to whom you are connected in some way (as by family or friendship)

5. the process of bringing ideas or events together in memory or imagination

6. a connecting shape

7. a supplier (especially of narcotics)

8. shifting from one form of transportation to another

9. the act of bringing two things into contact (especially for communication)

  Familiarity information: CONNECTION used as a noun is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONNECTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A relation between things or events (as in the case of one causing the other or sharing features with it)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Synonyms:

connectedness; connection; connexion

Context example:

there was a connection between eating that pickle and having that nightmare

Hypernyms ("connection" is a kind of...):

relation (an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together)

Attribute:

connected (joined or linked together)

unconnected (not joined or linked together)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "connection"):

concatenation (the linking together of a consecutive series of symbols or events or ideas etc)

relatedness (a particular manner of connectedness)

relevance; relevancy (the relation of something to the matter at hand)

involvement (a connection of inclusion or containment)

bridge (something resembling a bridge in form or function)

communication (a connection allowing access between persons or places)

linkage (an associative relation)

alliance; bond (a connection based on kinship or marriage or common interest)

series ((electronics) connection of components in such a manner that current flows first through one and then through the other)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The state of being connected

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

connectedness; connection; link

Context example:

the connection between church and state is inescapable

Hypernyms ("connection" is a kind of...):

unification; union (the state of being joined or united or linked)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "connection"):

contact (the state or condition of touching or of being in immediate proximity)

concatenation (the state of being linked together as in a chain; union in a linked series)

interconnectedness; interconnection (a state of being connected reciprocally)

coherence; coherency; cohesion; cohesiveness (the state of cohering or sticking together)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An instrumentality that connects

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

connecter; connection; connective; connector; connexion

Context example:

he didn't have the right connector between the amplifier and the speakers

Hypernyms ("connection" is a kind of...):

instrumentality; instrumentation (an artifact (or system of artifacts) that is instrumental in accomplishing some end)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "connection"):

line; phone line; subscriber line; telephone circuit; telephone line (a telephone connection)

coupling; yoke (a connection (like a clamp or vise) between two things so they move together)

patch; temporary hookup (a connection intended to be used for a limited time)

slip ring (connection consisting of a metal ring on a rotating part of a machine; provides a continuous electrical connection through brushes on stationary contacts)

conjunction; junction (something that joins or connects)

hookup (a device providing a connection between a power source and a user)

hitch (a connection between a vehicle and the load that it pulls)

earth; ground (a connection between an electrical device and a large conducting body, such as the earth (which is taken to be at zero voltage))

backbone (the part of a network that connects other networks together)

attachment; bond (a connection that fastens things together)

jumper (a small connector used to make temporary electrical connections)

Derivation:

connect (plug into an outlet)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(usually plural) a person who is influential and to whom you are connected in some way (as by family or friendship)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Context example:

he has powerful connections

Hypernyms ("connection" is a kind of...):

acquaintance; friend (a person with whom you are acquainted)

Domain usage:

plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)

Derivation:

connect (establish a rapport or relationship)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The process of bringing ideas or events together in memory or imagination

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

association; connection; connexion

Context example:

conditioning is a form of learning by association

Hypernyms ("connection" is a kind of...):

memory; remembering (the cognitive processes whereby past experience is remembered)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "connection"):

colligation (the connection of isolated facts by a general hypothesis)

Derivation:

connect (make a logical or causal connection)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A connecting shape

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Synonyms:

connection; connexion; link

Hypernyms ("connection" is a kind of...):

form; shape (the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "connection"):

node (a connecting point at which several lines come together)

articulation; join; joint; junction; juncture (the shape or manner in which things come together and a connection is made)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A supplier (especially of narcotics)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("connection" is a kind of...):

provider; supplier (someone whose business is to supply a particular service or commodity)

Domain category:

narcotic (a drug that produces numbness or stupor; often taken for pleasure or to reduce pain; extensive use can lead to addiction)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Shifting from one form of transportation to another

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

connection; connexion

Context example:

the plane was late and he missed his connection in Atlanta

Hypernyms ("connection" is a kind of...):

conveyance; transfer; transferral; transport; transportation (the act of moving something from one location to another)

Derivation:

connect (be scheduled so as to provide continuing service, as in transportation)

Sense 9

Meaning:

The act of bringing two things into contact (especially for communication)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

connection; connexion; joining

Context example:

there was a connection via the internet

Hypernyms ("connection" is a kind of...):

change of integrity (the act of changing the unity or wholeness of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "connection"):

interconnection ((computer science) the act of interconnecting (wires or computers or theories etc.))

intersection (the act of intersecting (as joining by causing your path to intersect your target's path))

approximation; bringing close together (the act of bringing near or bringing together especially the cut edges of tissue)

concatenation (the act of linking together as in a series or chain)

convergence; convergency; converging (the act of converging (coming closer))

coming upon; encounter (a casual meeting with a person or thing)

articulation (the act of joining things in such a way that motion is possible)

adjunction; junction (an act of joining or adjoining things)

attachment; fastening (the act of fastening things together)

hit (a connection made via the internet to another website)

Derivation:

connect (join for the purpose of communication)

connect (join by means of communication equipment)

connect (establish communication with someone)

 Context examples 

"I really know nothing about him," said I. "I only remember his name in connection with the police-court proceedings, for striking Blundell."

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The scientists interpreted Dawn's observations of two kinds of linear features to further understand their connection to the upwelling material.

(Dawn Explores Ceres' Interior Evolution, NASA)

Nerve cells relay information between each other through specialized connections known as synapses.

(Structure of receptor involved in brain disorders, NIH)

The plant anticipates the timing and the direction of dawn, and to me that looks like a reason to have a connection between the clock and the growth pathway.

(Sunflowers move from east to west, and back, by the clock, NSF)

Besides, I am resolved I will have a home and connections.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

One thing, in this connection, White Fang quickly learnt, and that was that a thieving god was usually a cowardly god and prone to run away at the sounding of the alarm.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Then speech would suddenly desert him, in the middle of a sentence perhaps, and for hours, sometimes, we would wait for the connection to be re-established.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Researchers have identified connections between neurons in brain systems associated with reward, stress, and emotion.

(Researchers identify key brain circuits for reward-seeking and avoidance behavior, National Institutes of Health)

Then I shall tell you plainly what I want, for there must be no doubtful matter in this connection between us now.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

A finding of leakage of bile due to breakdown of a biliary anastomosis (surgical connection of two separate anatomic structures).

(Biliary Anastomotic Leakage, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)