connect
Americanverb (used with object)
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to join, link, or fasten together; unite or bind.
to connect the two cities by a bridge; Communication satellites connect the local stations into a network.
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to establish communication between; put in communication.
Operator, will you please connect me with Mr. Jones?
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to have as an accompanying or associated feature.
pleasures connected with music.
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to cause to be associated, as in a personal or business relationship.
to connect oneself with a group of like-minded persons; Our bank is connected with major foreign banks.
- Antonyms:
- dissociate
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to associate mentally or emotionally.
She connects all telegrams with bad news.
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to link to an electrical or communications system; hook up.
to connect a telephone.
verb (used without object)
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to become connected; join or unite.
These two parts connect at the sides.
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(of trains, buses, etc.) to run so as to make connections (often followed bywith ).
This bus connects with a northbound bus.
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Informal. to have or establish successful communication; make contact.
I connected with two new clients today.
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Informal. to relate to or be in harmony with another person, one's work, etc..
We knew each other well but never connected.
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Slang. (of a drug dealer or user) to make direct contact for the illegal sale or purchase of drugs, as narcotics.
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Sports. to hit successfully or solidly.
The batter connected for a home run. The boxer connected with a right.
adjective
verb
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to link or be linked together; join; fasten
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(tr) to relate or associate
I connect him with my childhood
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(tr) to establish telephone communications with or between
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(intr) to be meaningful or meaningfully related
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(intr) (of two public vehicles, such as trains or buses) to have the arrival of one timed to occur just before the departure of the other, for the convenient transfer of passengers
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informal (intr) to hit, punch, kick, etc, solidly
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informal (intr) to be successful
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slang (intr) to find a source of drugs, esp illegal drugs
Usage
What are other ways to say connect?
To connect is to link or fasten together, as two cities by a bridge. How is connect different from join and unite? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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connectabilitynoun
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connectibilitynoun
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connectornoun
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misconnectverb
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subconnectverb
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reconnectverb (used with object)
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connectableadjective
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connectibleadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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connectsimple
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connectssimple
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have connectedperfect
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has connectedperfect
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am connectingprogressive
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are connectingprogressive
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is connectingprogressive
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have been connectingperfect progressive
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has been connectingperfect progressive
Past
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connectedsimple
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had connectedperfect
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was connectingprogressive
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were connectingprogressive
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had been connectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of connect
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin connectere, equivalent to con- “with, together” + nectere “to tie”; see con-, nexus
Explanation
Connect means to join together. When a puzzle piece fits into another, they connect. You might fly to Chicago and then connect to a flight to LA. When you meet someone and feel comfortable with them right away, you connect. The uses of connect continue. A receptionist connects you to the person you want to speak to on the phone. When you are assembling something, you are often told to connect tab A to slot B. When you punch someone, your fist connects with their face. You might not connect a movie with a historical event until your teacher points it out.
Vocabulary lists containing connect
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 3
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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com-, con-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Authorities have been probing various cyclospora outbreaks as if they are distinct, but it is possible they are related and investigators so far haven’t been able to connect them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
It was also an opportunity to connect with her neighbors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
He explained that ServiceNow has made it its specialty to lodge itself between a number of different applications and connect separate software platforms, which sets the company up to implement agents across an organization.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
Advanced computer simulations and theoretical models were then used to interpret the experimental signals and connect them with the underlying electronic and structural changes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
“Can’t we just connect them to our equipment?”
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
The narrow waterway connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and, via the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Yuntianhua may be the one Chinese company that connects Washington’s worries about China’s role in agriculture with the Hormuz fertilizer squeeze.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
"We now have a consistent explanation that connects experimental observations with theory."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
Most new cars are equipped with software that connects to the internet and scoops up data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Nearby, there is a bridge that connects the towns of Lucban and Tayabas.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Small talk helps people feel connected, which ties back to the need to belong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
This allowed the scientists to test whether the signals involved in caregiving were still connected to the ancient feeding circuits from which they may have evolved.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
Chen said he had no idea what that information could have been, or if the killing was even connected to the business dispute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
More than likely, Fidelity hired a firm to locate potential heirs or people connected to your former sister-in-law’s account or simply to verify her death before proceeding with the account.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
I am connected, but no information is accessible.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
By connecting non-inertial quantum effects with measurable particle behavior, the work opens a new direction for studying matter governed by the strong interaction.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Alongside its LNG facility, Croatia also boasts oil pipelines connecting it to Bosnia, Hungary, Slovenia and Serbia -- capable of pumping nearly half a million barrels of crude per day.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
That often means reading, researching and connecting ideas outside of working hours.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
On his June 2026 song “We Know the Truth,” he rejected allegations connecting him to the killing and said he learned after arriving to perform at the festival that someone had been stabbed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
She made a line with her hand connecting the two dots and continuing into the woods.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
