noun: the act of consorting with or joining with others
Example: "You cannot be convicted of criminal guilt by association"
noun: the process of bringing ideas or events together in memory or imagination
Example: "Conditioning is a form of learning by association"
noun: (ecology) a group of organisms (plants and animals) that live together in a certain geographical region and constitute a community with a few dominant species
noun: a formal organization of people or groups of people
Example: "He joined the Modern Language Association"
noun: (chemistry) any process of combination (especially in solution) that depends on relatively weak chemical bonding
noun: a relation resulting from interaction or dependence
Example: "Flints were found in association with the prehistoric remains of the bear"
noun: the state of being connected together as in memory or imagination
Example: "His association of his father with being beaten was too strong to break"
