Suppose I am a member of a club/group. What is that state of being inside the club called, in the following context?

I have __ to this club.

I'm thinking admission, but that really doesn't sound like it.


I have membership of this club. (BrE)

I have membership in this club. (AmE)

  • 1
    Strictly speaking, and according to the given examples with membership, this does seem to answer the question since it wouldn't fit to the pattern "I have ___ to this club", unless "to have membership" also goes well with "to the club". If that was the case, it would be nice to know if it's accepted in BrE, AmE, or both. – Eduardo Dec 25 '11 at 11:24
  • @Eduardo: You obviously mean '... this does not seem to answer ...' – Kris Dec 26 '11 at 4:41
  • @Kris Obviously :) – Eduardo Dec 26 '11 at 17:53

Considering the way the pattern is specified, I'd probably go with access or admittance, as in "I have access or admittance to the club". Nonetheless, in almost any other case I'd consider membership as the best word to describe the fact that someone pertains to a club or organization.

  • Access would be the proper substitute for OP's idea of admission. However, access does not automatically imply membership. Non-members may have limited access. The staff have unlimited access, though not as members, and so on. – Kris Dec 25 '11 at 13:00
  • I agree, having access does not necessarily imply being a member; you can be temporarily be granted access to the club, for example. That's why I find membership a better word to describe the state of being a member, but in that case, "member" would probably be a better fit. Although we should perhaps also focus on the meaning of state. – Eduardo Dec 25 '11 at 15:57

The original phrasing of the question differs a lot from your suggested idea of a better term than admission in an example sentence.

'What is that state of being inside the club called...?'

The answer to 'being a member of the club' can be 'belong', as in:

I belong to this club.

(This can be a powerful statement, say, when someone questions your locus standi within the club premises.)

However, if you must use the form 'I have __ to this club.' only, then you can say:

I have access to this club.

  • The question title does not actually reflect the question body, on which all answers were based up to now. Given the question description, I take the title more like an introduction to the subject, than for a question by itself. – Eduardo Dec 25 '11 at 15:48

Your Answer

