Meaning & Definition of Relation in English

1. An abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together

2. The act of sexual procreation between a man and a woman

• The man's penis is inserted into the woman's vagina and excited until orgasm and ejaculation occur

3. A person related by blood or marriage

• "Police are searching for relatives of the deceased"

• "He has distant relations back in new jersey"

4. An act of narration

• "He was the hero according to his own relation"

• "His endless recounting of the incident eventually became unbearable"

5. (law) the principle that an act done at a later time is deemed by law to have occurred at an earlier time

• "His attorney argued for the relation back of the amended complaint to the time the initial complaint was filed"

6. (usually plural) mutual dealings or connections among persons or groups

• "International relations"