party

plural parties

1. lawA person or group of people constituting one side in a legal proceeding, such as in a legal action or a contract.First known use ca. 1300s

   The contract requires that the party of the first part pay the fee.

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   if the Jury had found that the party slain had been of English race and nation, it had been adjudged felony

   1612, Sir John Davies, Discoverie of the True Causes why Ireland was never entirely subdued

2. datedhumorousslangvulgarA person; an individual.First known use after 1475

   He is a queer party.

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   `These young parties have a way of looking at one, sir,' he would say apologetically, `which I don't call respectable.'

   1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC

   1. datedhumorousslangvulgarWith to: someone who takes part in an action or affair; an accessory.

      I can't possibly be (a) party to that kind of reckless behaviour.

3. archaicbroadlyA group of people forming one side in a given dispute, contest, etc., or united in maintaining a cause, policy, or opinion in opposition to others; a faction.First known use ca. 1320s

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   A mile back in the forest the tribe had heard the fierce challenge of the gorilla, and, as was his custom when any danger threatened, Kerchak called his people together, partly for mutual protection against a common enemy, since this gorilla might be but one of a party of several, and also to see that all members of the tribe were accounted for.

   1912 October, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Tarzan of the Apes”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as chapter 6, in Tarzan of the Apes, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, June 1914, →OCLC

   1. archaicbroadlygovernmentA political group considered as a formal whole, usually organized on a national basis, which contests elections and aims to form or take part in a government; a political party.

      The green party took 12% of the vote.

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      His party was campaigning successfuly.

      "A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day.[…]A strong man—a strong one; and a heedless." ¶ "Of what party is he?" she inquired, as though casually.

      1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC

      The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.

      1949, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, page 103

      In the freer political atmosphere before the 1989 repression, peasant protests against the Party in Henan were sometimes openly discussed. A transcript of a meeting between peasants and cadres in Jili district near Luoyang published in the Peasants’ Daily recorded some vivid complaints.

      1996, John Gittings, “Peasants in Revolt”, in Real China: From Cannibalism to Karaoke, Pocket Books, published 1997, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 46

      The RNC entered June with about $72.4 million in cash reserves, nearly five times the $15 million stockpiled by the DNC, as the two parties gear up for gubernatorial races this fall and next year’s costly midterm elections for Congress. […] The party’s cash crunch is serious enough that party officials have weighed seeking a line of credit to help it stay afloat, a development first reported by The New York Times.

      2025 June 21, Fredreka Schouten and Arit John, “The DNC’s cash crunch deepens as new filings show Republicans with a huge advantage”, in CNN

   2. archaicbroadlygovernmentThe Communist Party, especially as the sole political party of a communist state.
   3. archaicbroadlydatedgovernmentThe feeling of solidarity with and support for one's political party; partisanship, especially in political matters.
   4. Internetarchaicbroadlyroleplaying gamesgamesActive player characters organized into a single group.
   5. archaicbroadlyvideo gamesA group of characters controlled by the player.
4. governmentA detachment of troops selected for a particular service or duty.First known use ca. 1330

   boarding party

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   The settlers were attacked early next morning by a scouting party.

5. A group of people gathered together, especially temporarily, for a specific purpose such as travel or sport.First known use after 1387

   Do you have a table available for a party of four?

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   We're expecting a large party from the London office.

   '[…]I received it on the very morning of our intended party to Whitwell […]

   1811, [Jane Austen], chapter IX, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC

   […] the whole party were still standing and talking together very agreeably, when the sound of horses drew their notice, and Darcy and Bingley were seen riding down the street.

   1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter XV, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, pages 163–164

   We made an odd party before the arrival of the Ten, particularly when the Celebrity dropped in for lunch or dinner.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 63

   When the line was being surveyed in 1880, the survey party, proceeding along the course of Stock Creek, reached a natural amphitheatre with a rock wall 200 ft. high, in the face of which there was an arched tunnel entrance, [...] into which the stream passed.

   1944 May and June, “Nature Provides a Railway Tunnel”, in Railway Magazine, page 132

   1. A social gathering, usually of invited guests, which typically involves eating, drinking, and entertainment and often held to celebrate a particular occasion.

      I'm throwing a huge party for my 21st birthday.

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      So-So, tonight, tonight, let’s look at where that time actually goes, and let’s begin with the most obvious form of fundraising: fundraisers. These are usually shitty parties in D.C. bars, restaurants, or townhouses, and there are a lot of them! The Sunlight Foundation estimates that, in the last election cycle, members of Congress held over 28 hundred fundraisers! Washington is like Rod Stewart’s haircut: party in the front, party in the back, frankly too much party and no business anywhere to be found!

      2016 April 3, “Congressional Fundraising”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 7, John Oliver (actor), via HBO

      You know I’d leave any party for you / 'Cause no party’s so sweet as a party of two

      2017, “Any Party”, in Pleasure, performed by Feist

      Synonyms: bash, do, rave

   2. A gathering of acquaintances so that one of them may offer items for sale to the rest of them.

      lingerie party

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      Tupperware party

6. A small group of birds or mammals.First known use after 1387

   Small parties and flocks close to breeding sites commonly give shrill, high-pitched, trilling screams.

   2009, Mark Brazil, The Birds of East Asia, London: Christopher Helm, page 272

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   Small parties of cattle were seen browsing in places where they must with with difficulty have kept their footing[.]

   1830 March 5, The Australian, Sydney, page 3, column 3

   A party of mynas, consisting of several males and females, once selected the top of a low terraced roof, just below my verandah, as a site for courting and quarrelling.

   1903, D.D. Cunningham, Some Indian Friends and Acquaintances, London: John Murray, page 28

7. obsoleteA part or portion.First known use ca. 1300–1654

   And so the moost party of the castel that was falle doune thorugh that dolorous stroke laye vpon Pellam and balyn thre dayes.

   1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum xv”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book II, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC

8. obsoleteA prospective partner or an offer of marriage.First known use 1492–1854
9. obsoleteA decision, resolution, agreement.First known use 1585–1767

present singular third person parties · participle present partying · participle past partied · past partied

1. intransitiveTo celebrate at a party, to have fun, to enjoy oneself.

   We partied until the early hours.

2. euphemisticintransitiveslangTo take recreational drugs.

   “Miss, do you party?” the boy asked. “What?” Jennifer asked back. “Do you smoke? I'll get you some cheap. One American dollar equals forty Jamaican dollars. I'll get you as much of the stuff as you need.”

   2004, Daniel Nicholas Shields, Firewoman

3. intransitiveTo engage in flings, to have one-night stands, to sow one's wild oats.
4. InternetintransitivegamesTo form a party (with).

   If you want to beat that monster, you should party with a healer.

comparative more party · superlative most party

1. obsoletePartly.

1. Divided; in part.
   1. not comparableobsoleteexcept in compoundsgovernmentDivided into parts of different tinctures, usually equal, and especially following the lines of one of the ordinaries.

      an escutcheon party per pale

   2. not comparableobsoleterareexcept in compoundsShared by two properties and serving to divide them.

      Now converging, now diverging, these fences presented a striking irregularity of contour. No fence was party, nor any part of any fence.

      1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC

2. not comparableFavoring one party; partisan.