The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

organized crime \organized crime\ n.
   Groups of persons organized for illegal purposes, such as
   bootlegging, conducting illegal gambling, loansharking,
   extortion, etc.; -- a general term encompassing most forms of
   criminal groups, but especially those that are consolidated
   into "families" more or less recognizing each other's
   different regions of operation; sometimes considered
   synonymous with the mafia or the syndicate.
   [PJC]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Syndicate \Syn"di*cate\, v. i.
   To unite to form a syndicate.
   [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Syndicate \Syn"di*cate\, v. t. [LL. syndicatus, p. p. of
   syndicare to censure.]
   To judge; to censure. [Obs.]
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Syndicate \Syn"di*cate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. syndicated; p.
   pr. & vb. n. syndicating.]
   1. To combine or form into, or manage as, a syndicate.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   2. To acquire or control for or by, or to subject to the
      management of, a syndicate; as, syndicated newspapers.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   3. (Journalism) to purchase various journalistic items, such
      as articles, columns, or comic strips, from their
      individual creators, and resell them to numerous
      periodicals for simultaneous publication over a wide area;
      a syndicated columnist.
      [PJC]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Syndicate \Syn"di*cate\, n. [Cf. F. syndicat, LL. syndicatus.]
   1. The office or jurisdiction of a syndic; a council, or body
      of syndics. --Bp. Burnet.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. An association of persons officially authorized to
      undertake some duty or to negotiate some business; also,
      an association of persons who combine to carry out, on
      their own account, a financial or industrial project; as,
      a syndicate of bankers formed to take up and dispose of an
      entire issue of government bonds.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. A more or less organized association of criminals
      controlling some aspects of criminal activity, in a
      specific area or country-wide; -- used loosely as a
      synonym for organized crime or the mafia.
      [PJC]

   4. (Journalism) a commercial organization that purchases
      various journalistic items, such as articles, columns, or
      comic strips, from their individual creators, and resells
      them to newspapers or other periodicals for simultaneous
      publication over a wide area.
      [PJC]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

syndicate
    n 1: a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized
         criminal activities [syn: syndicate, crime syndicate,
         mob, family]
    2: an association of companies for some definite purpose [syn:
       consortium, pool, syndicate]
    3: a news agency that sells features or articles or photographs
       etc. to newspapers for simultaneous publication
    v 1: join together into a syndicate; "The banks syndicated"
    2: organize into or form a syndicate
    3: sell articles, television programs, or photos to several
       publications or independent broadcasting stations