syndicate
syndicate — noun
1. a temporary group formed by several companies, banks, or individuals who put the
a temporary group formed by several companies, banks, or individuals who put their money together to fund a large business project that none of them could afford alone.
The construction syndicate included four engineering firms and two international banks.
syndicate included [number] [organizations] — naming members
Rafael joined a syndicate of investors who were funding the new railway line.
syndicate of [people] — listing participants
A banking syndicate was formed to provide the three billion dollars in loans.
The syndicate agreed to share the profits and risks of the oil exploration project.
Without the syndicate, no single company could have funded the harbor expansion.
- consortium
very similar in meaning but more common in formal European business contexts
- alliance
broader in scope; can refer to any partnership, not only financial projects
- cartel
negative connotation; refers to groups that fix prices or limit competition illegally
- individual
a single person or company acting alone, without partners
文法句型
syndicate of [people/organizations]
syndicate + verb (singular/plural)
用法筆記
Frequently used in financial and construction contexts. The verb that follows can be singular (treating the syndicate as a unit) or plural (emphasising the individual members).
常見錯誤
2. a business that sells news articles, comic strips, photographs, and television p
a business that sells news articles, comic strips, photographs, and television programs to many different newspapers, magazines, or broadcast stations at the same time.
The newspaper syndicate supplied the same political cartoon to over two hundred papers.
syndicate + supplied [content] to [number] [outlets]
Adaeze's cooking column was picked up by a national syndicate and appears in thirty cities.
passive: was picked up by a syndicate
This syndicate owns the rights to distribute the popular comic strip worldwide.
Christopher works for a syndicate that sends news videos to local stations around the country.
- news agency
closer in meaning; focuses on supplying news reports rather than entertainment content
- wire service
historical term for agencies that transmitted news by telegraph; now used broadly for news distributors
- distributor
more general; can refer to any organisation that supplies products to retailers
文法句型
syndicate + supplies/distributes [content] to [outlets]
用法筆記
Often encountered in the phrase 'syndicated column' or 'syndicated show' meaning content that is sold to multiple outlets. Contrast with sense 1 (BUSINESS GROUP): this sense is about distributing content, not about funding projects.
syndicate — verb
1. to sell the right to publish or broadcast a newspaper column, comic, television
to sell the right to publish or broadcast a newspaper column, comic, television show, or photograph to multiple different media companies at the same time, so it reaches a wider audience.
The studio syndicated its crime drama to television stations in twenty different countries.
syndicate [content] to [number] [countries/stations]
Her weekly advice column is syndicated by a large agency and appears in eighty newspapers.
passive: is syndicated by [agency]
Quinn decided to syndicate his photography rather than sell each picture to one magazine.
The network syndicated the popular game show to local broadcasters across the Midwest.
Publishing companies often syndicate their most popular comic strips to earn more money.
- distribute
broader meaning; does not imply simultaneous sale to multiple outlets
- license
more formal; focuses on the legal permission rather than the business arrangement
文法句型
syndicate [content] to [media outlet]
be syndicated to [outlets]
syndicate [content] across [region/country]
用法筆記
Commonly used in the passive form (is/was syndicated). The related noun sense (MEDIA SUPPLIER) names the organisation that does this work. The object is typically creative content: a column, cartoon, show, or photograph.
常見錯誤
2. to transfer a large loan or debt across several banks or financial institutions
to transfer a large loan or debt across several banks or financial institutions so they share the risk and responsibility of managing it, rather than one lender bearing the full burden.
The international bank syndicated the five-hundred-million-dollar loan among six financial institutions.
syndicate [amount] loan among [number] [institutions]
A group of European banks agreed to syndicate the debt for the airport construction project.
agreed to syndicate [debt] for [project]
The loan was syndicated to several smaller lenders who shared the repayment risk.
Indra works for a firm that specialises in syndicating corporate loans for infrastructure projects.
- underwrite
different process; underwriting means guaranteeing to buy unused shares, not sharing a loan across institutions
- distribute
too general; lacks the financial specificity of sharing debt risk
- sell down
informal finance term for selling parts of a loan to other banks
文法句型
syndicate [loan/debt] to [financial institutions]
be syndicated among [banks]
用法筆記
Almost exclusively used in formal financial contexts. The phrase 'syndicated loan' is more common than the verb itself. This sense is distinct from verb/1 (media) — the object is a financial instrument, not creative content.