Meaning & use
mutual aid societies
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Meanings
nouncountableformal
Organizations whose members pay in money and receive help from the shared fund when they are sick, injured, or in need.
Grammar: Countable noun phrase; use 'a mutual aid society' for one and 'mutual aid societies' for several.
Patterns
- join a mutual aid society
- belong to a mutual aid society
- a mutual aid society provides something
In the nineteenth century, mutual aid societies paid a small weekly sum to members who could not work because of illness.
Many immigrant communities set up mutual aid societies to cover funeral costs and medical bills.
The museum exhibit explains how mutual aid societies grew into modern insurance companies.
nouncountable
Groups in which people voluntarily share resources and help each other, often outside official systems.
Grammar: Same countable pattern; often used with 'local' or 'community' before it.
Patterns
- local mutual aid societies
- community mutual aid societies
- form a mutual aid society
During the strike, mutual aid societies collected food and distributed it to families.
Neighbors formed mutual aid societies to check on elderly residents after the storm.
Some mutual aid societies operate with no formal leadership at all.
Word forms
| singular | mutual aid society |
|---|
Common combinations
- join a mutual aid society
- He joined a mutual aid society that his grandfather had helped found.
- set up a mutual aid society
- Workers set up a mutual aid society to help colleagues who lost wages.
- member of a mutual aid society
- As a member of a mutual aid society, she received a small payment each month.
- mutual aid society dues
- The mutual aid society dues were only a few cents a week.
- a network of mutual aid societies
- A network of mutual aid societies supported the whole neighborhood.
Synonyms and how they differ
- friendly society
- A very close British term for the same kind of member-funded organization, but it sounds historical and is less used in American English.
- benefit society
- Similar meaning, but it stresses the money paid out to members rather than the spirit of shared help.
- cooperative
- A cooperative is owned and run by its members for business purposes, while a mutual aid society focuses on helping members in hard times.
Word family
- mutual aid noun
- the practice of people helping each other voluntarily
Commonly confused: mutual aid societies or charity?
mutual aid societies vs charity
A charity usually gives help to outsiders and is funded by donations, while a mutual aid society mainly helps its own paying members.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Joined a mutual aid society' uses the singular countable form with a verb that fits. Option A uses a plural after 'a', option C has a plural subject with a singular verb, and option D uses the phrase as a verb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mutual aid societies”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.