Words / C1

lee-AYZN/liˈeɪzn/

Liaison is communication and cooperation between groups, or the person who does it: liaison with the police, a liaison officer. Also, in some contexts, a secret love affair. Link and contact are everyday; liaise is the verb. Do not call a single ignored email a liaison structure.

Meaning

Communication and cooperation between groups; a person who does that work.

Examples

• “Liaison with the night porters stopped the false fire alarm loop.”
• “Contact is everyday. Liaise (verb) is British workplace English. A love-affair sense is a different, often tabloid, meaning. One unanswered inbox is not a liaison office.”

Good to know

A linking role between groups. Verb: liaise. Everyday: contact / link. Second sense: an affair. One email ≠ a structure.

Near in meaning

contact

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