The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Alignment \A*lign"ment\, n. [F. alignement.]
   1. The act of adjusting to a line; arrangement in a line or
      lines; the state of being so adjusted; a formation in a
      straight line; also, the line of adjustment; esp., an
      imaginary line to regulate the formation of troops or of a
      squadron.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Engin.) The ground-plan of a railway or other road, in
      distinction from the grades or profile.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

alignment
    n 1: an organization of people (or countries) involved in a pact
         or treaty [syn: alliance, coalition, alignment,
         alinement] [ant: nonalignment, nonalinement]
    2: the spatial property possessed by an arrangement or position
       of things in a straight line or in parallel lines
    3: (astronomy) apparent meeting or passing of two or more
       celestial bodies in the same degree of the zodiac [syn:
       conjunction, alignment]
    4: the act of adjusting or aligning the parts of a device in
       relation to each other