Meaning of communication in English

communication

noun

/kəˌmjuː.nɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ us

/kəˌmjuː.nəˈkeɪ.ʃən/

Add to word list Add to word list

B1 [ U ]

the act of communicating with people:

means of communication Television is an increasingly important means of communication.

in communication with We are in direct communication with the leaders of the rebellion.

With no decent phone signal, communication is difficult.

communication between There's very little communication between mother and daughter (= they do not have a good relationship).

a course on communication skills

[ C ] formal

a message, letter, or announcement:

We received your communication of 11 March and are sorry to inform you that we won't be attending the conference.

Synonyms

                announcement
dispatch 
message  (INFORMATION)
missive
pronouncement formal

communications [ plural ]

the various methods of sending information between people and places, especially phones, computers, radio, etc.:

the communications industry

ways of moving between one place and another:

Its commercial success as a city is partly due to its excellent rail and road communications.

More examplesFewer examples

Lack of communication in a marriage causes serious problems.
The successful applicant for the position will be a well-motivated self-starter who has excellent communication skills.
They showed a documentary on animal communication.
Business people often think that fluency and communication are more important that grammar when speaking.
With no phone or radio equipment, they had no means of communication.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Communicating & keeping in touch

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Information and messages

(Definition of communication from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

communication | American Dictionary

communication

noun [ C/U ]

/kəˌmju·nɪˈkeɪ·ʃən/

Add to word list Add to word list

the process by which messages or information is sent from one place or person to another, or the message itself:

[ U ] E-mail is an increasingly important means of business communication.

Communication is also the exchange of information and the expression of feeling that can result in understanding:

[ U ] There was very little communication between the two brothers.

(Definition of communication from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

communication | Business English

communication

noun

COMMUNICATIONS

/kəˌmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃən/ us

Add to word list Add to word list

[ U ]

the process of sharing information, especially when this increases understanding between people or groups:

We have been in communication with various agencies in regard to this matter.

a form/means/method of communication Email is an excellent means of communication because of the flexibility it allows.

The training department uses a special board game to improve communication between managers and their employees.

enhance/improve/foster communication He said communication with neighborhoods and community groups must be improved.

The project failed because of a lack of communication between the two departments.

There was a breakdown in communication.

channels/lines of communication It is important to keep the channels of communication open at all times.

Effective communication is a two-way process.

Good communication skills are essential in this job.

In the study, the effectiveness of online communication was contrasted with person-to-person interaction.

See also

corporate communication

mass communication

[ C ] formal

a written or spoken message:

I kept a record of who I spoke to, wrote to, or received a communication from.

By subscribing to the list, you are agreeing to receive regular email communications from the company.

(Definition of communication from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of communication

communication

Perhaps fortunately, you are scheduled to give a speech in two weeks in your communications class at your school.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The ongoing revolution in information technology and communications offers unlimited opportunities to improve design review processes.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

If the town is a machine, its role is the regulation of communications.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

I believe that increasingly with modern communications, the interests of children reared in a rural environment may be as diverse as those from urban areas.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

When you enter the business world you will be expected to take part in an array of situations which call for specialised oral communications.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Another common characteristic of global communications is the tendency towards excess capacity.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Secondly the lowering of trans-ocean communications tariffs may make global data pipelines nearly as cheap to operate as national networks.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

When communications were inadequate and weak, it was argued, the country could ill afford the luxury of competing media.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A way of improving communications is to assist the learner to become sensitive to the sharing of ideas, discussion of topics and experiences.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

As industrialisation reached maturity the previously isolated settlements expanded and merged, and communications improved, but the social topography of the nineteenth century remained.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The scope for military applications could include materials management, military intelligence, communications planning, maintenance planning, diagnostics and computer-based training.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Modern communications have created a truly worldwide market for major currencies.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Both content and style of the communications tend to be entirely technical.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

At the other end of the production chain, in distribution, speed to market was fostered by major advances in transportation and communications.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The variety of media types and ad hoc organisation of the overall system illustrates the fact that currently available communications solutions are not easily customisable.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of communication

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with communication

communication

These are words often used in combination with communication.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

alternative communication

Understanding the theoretical and methodological bases of augmentative and alternative communication (pp. 64-83).

From the Cambridge English Corpus

asynchronous communication

A special newsgroup was set up, in preference to a 'chat' or email facility, in order to optimise the conditions for collective, structured, asynchronous communication.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

basic communication

Given that such features are "functionally expendable," they will not be found in pidgin languages, which are "expressedly designed for only basic communication" (p. 15).

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all collocations with communication

What is the pronunciation of communication?