1. 1. A group of people living in the same locality and under the same government.
   2. The district or locality in which such a group lives.
2. 1. A group of people having common interests: the scientific community; the international business community.
   2. A group viewed as forming a distinct segment of society: the gay community; the community of color.
3. 1. Similarity or identity: a community of interests.
   2. Sharing, participation, and fellowship.
4. Society as a whole; the public.
5. Ecology.
   1. A group of plants and animals living and interacting with one another in a specific region under relatively similar environmental conditions.
   2. The region occupied by a group of interacting organisms.

[Middle English communite, citizenry, from Old French, from Latin commūnitās, fellowship, from commūnis, common. See common.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.