party

Universal Words noun, verb noun (plural parties) 1 (also Party) [C+sing./pl.v.] a political organization that you can vote for in elections and whose members have the same aims and ideas: the Democratic and Republican Parties in the United States * She belongs to the Labour Party. * the ruling / opposition party * the party leader / manifesto / policy 2 [C] (especially in compounds) a social occasion, often in a person's home, at which people eat, drink, talk, dance and enjoy themselves: a birthday / dinner / garden party * to give / have / throw a party * Did you go to their party? * party games seealsoHENPARTY, HOUSEPARTY, STAGPARTY 3 [C+sing./pl.v.] a group of people who are doing sth together such as travelling or visiting somewhere: The school is taking a party of 40 children to France. * The theatre gives a 10% discount to parties of more than ten. seealsoSEARCHPARTY, WORKINGPARTY 4 [C] (formal) one of the people or groups of people involved in a legal agreement or dispute: the guilty / innocent party * The contract can be terminated by either party with three months' notice. * The judge's decision satisfied most of the parties concerned. seealsoINJUREDPARTY, THIRDPARTY IDIOMS be (a) party to sth (formal) to be involved in an agreement or action: to be party to a decision * He refused to be a party to any violence. verb (parties, partying, partied, partied) [V] (informal) to enjoy yourself, especially by eating, drinking alcohol and dancing: They were out partying every night.