What is a party?
Hello! Summer in the United States is a popular season for hosting outdoor celebrations. Today we are responding to a question from Egypt on the word feast. Here is the question:  Question:  This word party has several meanings. It changed depending on the context. Please give me more details and examples. Taha, Egypt  Reply:  Dear Taha,  Its a great word to learn. You probably learned first that party is a name meaning a celebratory social event. When we have a party, we invite people to come together. Usually we serve food and drink. We could also play music, sometimes for dancing. We also sometimes organize games or other fun activities for our guests. A political party  During election campaigns, a political group may ask you to vote for their candidate for government office. These groups are also called parties. A party is a group of people who work together for a political purpose. Here is an example:  President of China Xi Jinping heads the countrys Communist Party. A related word is partisanship. It means loyalty to his political party. When both parties agree on something, it is called bipartisanship. An example of this was last weeks vote by every member of the US Senate in both parties to make a new federal holiday. The US Senate was bipartisan in an all-member vote to make June 19 a federal holiday. A legal term  When lawyers draft a contract, they use part to describe the people or groups involved in the legal case. They can say,  Both parties must agree to any modification of this contract. Another more formal use of party is to describe a person or a group. In a restaurant, the host can announce,  A table is ready for a group of four. When 191 countries signed the Paris Agreement on climate change, they became Parties to the agreement. Anyone can be a party  The word party sometimes appears where you can also use anyone or a person. Those interested can now buy tickets for the school concert. I bought my car from a private person on the internet. A group with a goal  In the event of a disaster, you may hear reports from a rescue team or search team going to help victims. After the earthquake, many countries sent special search and rescue teams to help locate the victims. One note: these are all definitions of the holiday as a noun. People also use it as a verb meaning to celebrate. Listen to this example:  When COVID-19 stops spreading, my friends and I are going to party together  in person! Thanks for writing to us, Taha! Email us at [email protected]  And its Ask a teacher. I am Jill Robbins. Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the comments section.