Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

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

Source : WordNet®

alignment
     n 1: an organization of people (or countries) involved in a pact
          or treaty [syn: {alliance}, {coalition}, {alinement}]
          [ant: {nonalignment}]
     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}]
     4: the act of adjusting or aligning the parts of a device in
        relation to each other