Dictionary Definition

cohesion

1 the state of cohering or sticking together [syn: coherence, coherency, cohesiveness] [ant: incoherence]

2 (botany) the process in some plants of parts growing together that are usually separate (such as petals)

3 (physics) the intermolecular force that holds together the molecules in a solid or liquid

User Contributed Dictionary

the state of cohering, or of sticking together
, the various intermolecular forces that hold solids and liquids together
the growing together of normally distinct parts of a plant
the degree to which different modules in a computing system are functionally dependent on others

the state of cohering, or of sticking together

the various intermolecular forces that hold solids and liquids together

the growing together of normally distinct parts of a plant

the degree to which different modules in a computing system are functionally dependent on others

Cohesion may mean:

Cohesion (chemistry): the intermolecular attraction between like-molecules.
Cohesion (computer science): a measure of how well the lines of source code within a module work together to provide a specific piece of functionality. In object-oriented programming, the degree to which a method implements a single function. Methods that implement a single function are described as having high cohesion.
Cohesion (geology): the part of shear strength that is independent of the normal effective stress in mass movements.
Cohesion (linguistics): the linguistic elements that make a discourse semantically coherent.
Cohesion (military): the bonding together of members of an organization/unit in such a way as to sustain their will and commitment to each other, their unit, and the mission (Cohesion the Human Element in Combat, William Henderson, 1985).
Cohesion (structural): the sociological and graph theoretical conception and measurement for maximal group or graphical boundaries where related elements cannot be disconnected except by removal of a certain minimal number of other nodes
Cohesion (band): a musical group from Manchester, England.
Cohesion (social policy): the bonds or "glue" between members of a community or society.