group

group — noun

1. two or more people, items, or objects treated as one unit because they are locat

1.nounA1
Definition

two or more people, items, or objects treated as one unit because they are located near each other, share a feature, or have something in common

Example

A small group of children was playing in the park near their school.

group of + plural noun

Christopher joined a local study group to prepare for the exam.

Common collocations
  • group of people
  • group of friends
  • age group
  • study group
  • focus group
  • in a group
  • by groups
Synonyms
  • set

    more neutral and often used for objects rather than people

  • collection

    suggests items gathered intentionally, often for display or study

  • team

    focuses on people working together toward a shared goal

Antonyms
  • individual

    a single person or thing, not part of a set

Grammar Patterns

group of + plural noun

adjective + group

group + verb (singular or plural)

Common Mistakes

A crowd of four students worked on the project.
A group of four students worked on the project.
'crowd' suggests a large, unorganized gathering; 'group' works for any size of set with a shared purpose.

2. a set of singers and instrumentalists who perform popular music such as pop or r

2.nounA2
Definition

a set of singers and instrumentalists who perform popular music such as pop or rock

Example

Liang plays guitar in a pop group that performs at local clubs.

pop group / rock group

The group released their first album last year and it sold well.

Common collocations
  • pop group
  • rock group
  • music group
  • join a group
  • group member
Synonyms
  • band

    more common for rock, jazz, and smaller ensembles; more informal than 'group'

  • ensemble

    formal term for any group of performers, including classical and theatre

Grammar Patterns

adjective + group

group + verb (singular or plural)

Common Mistakes

My favourite group played classical music at the concert hall.
My favourite band played classical music at the concert hall.
for classical, jazz, or orchestral music, 'orchestra' or 'ensemble' is more natural than 'group'; 'group' is mainly used for pop and rock.

3. a large business organization consisting of several smaller companies that opera

3.nounB2
Definition

a large business organization consisting of several smaller companies that operate under the same ownership

Example

The hotel group owns properties in fifteen different countries.

company name + Group

Karim works for a publishing group that owns several newspapers.

Common collocations
  • group company
  • group chief executive
  • group headquarters
  • media group
  • hotel group
Synonyms
  • conglomerate

    a very large corporation made up of many different, often unrelated, businesses

  • corporation

    a single legal business entity, not necessarily composed of multiple companies

Grammar Patterns

proper noun + Group

the + adjective + group

Usage Note

Commonly used as part of a company's official name, written with a capital letter — for example, 'HSBC Group' or 'News Corp Group'.

Common Mistakes

The group of companies is owned by five different people.' (imprecise)
The corporate group operates through five independent subsidiaries.
when referring to a formal business structure, 'group' is best paired with terms like 'subsidiary', 'holding company', or used as part of a proper name.

4. a set of teams, especially in football, that compete against each other in the f

4.nounB1
Definition

a set of teams, especially in football, that compete against each other in the first round of a tournament, with the best teams moving to the next stage

Example

Spain and Germany are in the same group in this year's tournament.

in the same group

Only the top two teams from each group advance to the next round.

from each group / top of the group

Common collocations
  • top of the group
  • group winner
  • group stage
  • from each group
  • in the same group
Synonyms
  • pool

    used in some sports like rugby or basketball for a similar set of teams

  • bracket

    a set of teams in a knockout tournament, arranged in a tree structure

Grammar Patterns

in a group

top of the group

Group + letter or number

Usage Note

This sense is common in British English sports reporting. Groups are usually labelled with a letter (Group A, Group B, etc.). The phrase 'group of death' describes a group with unusually strong teams.

Common Mistakes

Brazil is in Group with Argentina.
Brazil is in the same group as Argentina.
the preposition 'in' requires a determiner; use 'in a group' or 'in the same group as'.

5. the opening round of a sports tournament where teams are split into separate gro

5.nounB2
Definition

the opening round of a sports tournament where teams are split into separate groups and only face opponents within their own group

Example

The team played well during the group stage but lost in the final.

the group stage

Each team plays three matches in the group phase of the competition.

group phase

Common collocations
  • the group stage
  • group phase
  • during the group stage
  • group stage matches
Synonyms
  • preliminary round

    a broader term for any early stage before the main event, not limited to group format

  • qualifying round

    focuses on the elimination aspect — teams that qualify advance

Antonyms
  • knockout stage

    the later phase where losing teams are eliminated immediately

Grammar Patterns

the group stage

in the group phase

Usage Note

Typically used with a definite article ('the group stage') rather than as a countable noun. Distinguish from sense 4: sense 4 refers to a specific set of teams (a group), while sense 5 refers to the entire phase of the competition.

Common Mistakes

The team lost in group stage.
The team lost in the group stage.
'group stage' almost always takes the definite article 'the'.

group — verb

Word family

  • grouping
    nounB2
  • regroup
    verbC1
  • grouped
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe multiple items or people together, but they differ in structure and purpose. 'Set' is the most neutral and technical — it simply means a number of things considered together (a set of tools, a set of rules) without implying any interaction among them. 'Collection' suggests items gathered intentionally, often because they share a theme or value (a stamp collection, a collection of poems). 'Team' implies people working together toward a shared goal, with roles and cooperation (a football team, a project team). 'Crowd' differs sharply — it refers to a large, unstructured gathering of people with no formal organization. A group can be small or large, organized or casual, which is why it works where the others are too specific: 'a group of tourists' is natural, whereas 'a team of tourists' or 'a crowd of four tourists' would not fit.

set ↗collection ↗team ↗crowd ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • in a group
  • as a group
  • by groups
  • in groups of

Prepositions

Etymology

GermanicItalianFrenchEnglish

The word 'group' entered English in the 1600s from French 'groupe', meaning a cluster or gathering. French borrowed it from Italian 'gruppo', which came from a Germanic root related to the idea of a round mass or lump — the same root that gave us 'crop' and 'croup'. Over time, the meaning shifted from a physical lump or knot to any collection of people or things seen as a unit.