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I am making an app for communities and I need a word to describe when people attended the same class, went through a particular semester of the same program, were on the same cruise, attended the same club in college, were part of the same honors program for the same years etc.

Like batch or cohort but something that can describe all the above situations.

Alternatively, the word can describe the experience, eg they were part of the same ________. Program?

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  • What's wrong with "cohort" (aside from the fact that nobody knows what it means any more)?
    – Scott - Слава Україні
    Sep 16, 2016 at 4:49
  • I was going to go with cohort, just sounds a bit esoteric, how about "batch"?
    – Gregory Magarshak
    Sep 16, 2016 at 12:21
  • @GregoryMagarshak - Are you going to market this to people in the U.S., the UK, or somewhere else?
    – aparente001
    Sep 17, 2016 at 3:42
  • @aparente001 - both countries. Our app is used around the world. Primarily in the USA though.
    – Gregory Magarshak
    Sep 19, 2016 at 15:05

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"group" fits all the situations described. (the very word has been used by the OP)

From TFD

  • "a number of individuals or things considered or classed together because of similarities"
  • " a number of persons bound together by common social standards, interests, etc"
  • "a number of persons or things ranged or considered together as being related in some way."

e.g.

  • A group of ecologists
  • A group of hackers had planned to...
  • We were a group of seven and our guide decided to...
  • When I was in college, there were three foreign students in my group.
  • I'm teaching a group of kids how to...
  • Why don't we travel as a group?
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How about or coterie ?

From Dictionary.com:

coterie: a group of people who associate closely.

I think you could describe "people attended the same class, went through a particular semester of the same program, were on the same cruise, attended the same club in college, were part of the same honors program for the same years etc." as a coterie. It's of there same sort as "cohort".

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Cohort is better than batch. But I understand your hesitation to use cohort for your particular purposes. It might be a little off-putting.

Refugees that make a long trek together can be termed trek mates. If the primary mode of travel is by boat, they call each other boat-mates.

If you've been studying together, you are classmates. If you work together, you are workmates or coworkers. If you share a house you are housemates.

Sorry for the tangent. Now I will answer the question you actually asked.

gang

They were part of the same gang.

From the context it will be clear that you're not talking underlife.

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  • Cohort is widely used in academia in that sense.
    – Oliver Mason
    Sep 16, 2016 at 15:28
  • Yeah. Cohort is in #1 place for me so far, due to fitting everything. But it definitely seems a bit technical and unusual. I thought maybe there was some more "friendly" or "usual" word. Actually from what you said, "mates" may be the term? I might coin it in the app, but then you have classmates, shipmates as you said... with the benefit of the noun being right before the mates
    – Gregory Magarshak
    Sep 16, 2016 at 17:47
  • Mates are the fellow group members. Gang is the word I'm proposing for the group. That was a clarification. Now, to answer your question, "class", "ship", etc., don't matter very much. However, it might be helpful to show them as examples when you are recruiting new subscribers. (But not "ship" -- doesn't bring pleasant images to mind.)
    – aparente001
    Sep 16, 2016 at 18:25
  • Also note that in UK English, I believe mate is a synonym for "friend". It's a word with a very positive vibe. In your context, gang is too. Think of the song that has the line "the gang's all here". "Cohort" sounds way too technical. You can use it as a data-name in your programming, but don't use it on your website.
    – aparente001
    Sep 16, 2016 at 18:26
  • In the UK, mate is also very informal. You alright, mate? is something you'd say to a stranger, and quite a few people don't like to be called mate.
    – Oliver Mason
    Sep 16, 2016 at 18:43
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singular alumnus. (plural alumni)
1 : a person who has attended or has graduated from a particular school, college, or university
2 : a person who is a former member, employee, contributor, or inmate

— http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alumnus

Note: there is much discussion online about the male/female/singular/plural forms of this Latin-derived word which I am not going into here!

Also I think alumni is well enough understood so that it can be "stretched" beyond its traditional graduate or former student usage

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  • This is good, but only for after people have gone through the same class, club or experience. While they are still in it, they aren't alums. They are _____? I know, you've answered my question, I am just asking for my app.
    – Gregory Magarshak
    Sep 16, 2016 at 12:44

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