1. (

• relation

) an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together ;

2. (

• sexual_intercourse ,
• intercourse ,
• sex_act ,
• copulation ,
• coitus ,
• coition ,
• sexual_congress ,
• sexual_relation ,
• relation ,
• carnal_knowledge

) sexual activity between individuals, especially the insertion of a man's penis into a woman's vagina until orgasm and ejaculation occur ;

3. (

• relative ,
• relation

) a person related by blood or marriage; "police are searching for relatives of the deceased"; "he has distant relations back in New Jersey" ;

4. (

• relation ,
• telling ,
• recounting

) an act of narration; "he was the hero according to his own relation"; "his endless recounting of the incident eventually became unbearable" ;

5. (

• relation_back ,
• relation

) (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. (

• relation

) (usually plural) mutual dealings or connections among persons or groups; "international relations" ;