Origin: Greek prefix syn-
Syndicate has 9 different meanings across 2 categories:
a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities
"The powerful syndicate controlled the illegal gambling operations across three states without any police interference."
an association of companies for some definite purpose
"The oil syndicate formed to reduce competition by agreeing on fixed prices for their products."
a news agency that sells features or articles or photographs etc. to newspapers for simultaneous publication
"The syndicate distributed exclusive investigative reports to dozens of newspapers around the world at the same time."
A group of individuals or companies formed to transact some specific business, or to promote a common interest; a self-coordinating group.
"The oil companies formed a syndicate to negotiate the purchase rights together."
A group of gangsters engaged in organized crime.
"The corrupt police chief tipped off the syndicate about the upcoming heist, allowing them to escape without a trace."
In plain English: A syndicate is a group of people who join together to work on something big, usually for money.
"The media syndicate agreed to broadcast the special on every network at once."
Usage: Use "syndicate" for any formal alliance of businesses working together on a single project rather than informal partnerships. Avoid confusing this term with general groups, as it specifically implies coordinated action toward a shared commercial or criminal goal.
organize into or form a syndicate
"The investors decided to syndicate their capital by pooling resources through a new partnership agreement."
sell articles, television programs, or photos to several publications or independent broadcasting stations
"The media syndicate sells its popular detective series to dozens of local television stations across the country."
To become a syndicate.
"The rival news outlets decided to syndicate their investigative resources to compete more effectively against the larger chain."
Anglicized from French syndicat ("office of a syndic; board of syndics; trade union") on the basis of -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office, a group formed of people of this same office), equivalent to syndic ("syndic; representative; (especially) chief magistrate of Geneva") + -at ("-ate", forms nouns denoting rank or office), from Medieval Latin *syndicātus, from syndicus ("representative of a corporation or town; syndic") (from Ancient Greek σύνδικος (súndikos, "advocate for a defendant")...