join
Americanverb (used with object)
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joins,
present (3rd person singular)
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joined,
past participle, past
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joining
present participle
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to bring in contact, connect, or bring or put together.
to join hands; to join pages with a staple.
- Synonyms:
- amalgamate, consolidate, associate, combine, conjoin, attach, fasten, couple, link
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to come into contact or union with.
The brook joins the river.
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to bring together in a particular relation or for a specific purpose, action, etc.; unite.
to join forces against the smugglers.
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to become a member of (an organization, party, etc.).
to join a club.
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to enlist in (one of the armed forces).
to join the Navy.
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to come into the company of; meet or accompany.
I'll join you later.
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to participate with (someone) in some act or activity.
My wife joins me in thanking you for the gift.
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to unite in marriage.
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to meet or engage in (battle, conflict, etc.).
The opposing armies joined battle.
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to adjoin; meet.
His land joins mine.
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to draw a curve or straight line between.
to join two points on a graph.
verb (used without object)
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joins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
joined,
past participle, past
-
joining
present participle
-
to come into or be in contact or connection.
a place where cliffs and sea join.
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to become united, associated, or combined; associate or ally oneself; participate (usually followed bywith ).
Please join with us in our campaign.
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to take part with others (often followed byin ).
Let's all join in.
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to be contiguous or close; lie or come together; form a junction.
Our farms join along the river.
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to enlist in one of the armed forces (often followed byup ).
He joined up to fight for his country.
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to meet in battle or conflict.
verb
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to come or bring together; connect
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to become a member of (a club, organization, etc)
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to become associated or allied
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to take part
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(tr) to meet (someone) as a companion
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(tr) to become part of; take a place in or with
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(tr) to unite (two people) in marriage
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(tr) geometry to connect with a straight line or a curve
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(tr) an informal word for adjoin
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to start fighting
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to report for work after a period of leave or a strike
-
-
to hold one's own hands together
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(of two people) to hold each other's hands
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(usually foll by with) to work together in an enterprise or task
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noun
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a joint; seam
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the act of joining
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maths another name for union
Usage
What are other ways to say join?
To join is to bring in contact, connect, or bring together. How is join different from connect and unite? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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misjoinverb
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unjoinverb
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underjoinverb (used with object)
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joinableadjective
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unjoinableadjective
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well-joinedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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joinsimple
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joinssimple
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have joinedperfect
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has joinedperfect
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am joiningprogressive
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are joiningprogressive
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is joiningprogressive
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have been joiningperfect progressive
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has been joiningperfect progressive
Past
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joinedsimple
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had joinedperfect
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was joiningprogressive
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were joiningprogressive
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had been joiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of join
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English joinen, from Old French joign- (stem of joindre “to join”), from Latin jungere “to join”; see yoke 1 ( def. )
Explanation
To join is to connect, attach, or become a member of. You could join two puzzle pieces together or join the Girl Scouts; it's your choice. You can join two plastic tubes to make a long tunnel for your pet hamster, and you can also join a club — in other words, become a member or a part of the group. You can also join in with a song or join the staff of a swimming pool as a lifeguard. Join comes from the Old French word joindre, "connect or unite," from the Latin root iungere, "to join together, unite, or yoke."
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:
The C-130 Hercules plane left the Indonesian capital Jakarta for East Kalimantan province on Thursday to join local water-bombing efforts, the Indonesian disaster agency chief said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
Roku founder Anthony Wood will join the Fox board of directors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
Nor are today’s kids even likely to notice when it’s raining, which in Dr. Seuss’s book was the reason the kids were imprisoned in the house and unable to join in their usual outdoor frolic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
But the Nottingham Forest midfielder was called up as a late replacement after a number of high profile pull-outs and left a family holiday to join up with the Three Lions squad.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
I looked at Regan, waiting for her to join me in my meltdown, but to my surprise she had a familiar smile on her face.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Kaya, his enormous Tibetan mastiff, joins us on the couch.
From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026
He becomes West Ham's fourth permanent manager since David Moyes left London Stadium in May 2024, and joins with the pre-season promotion favourites sitting eighth in the Championship table, six points behind leaders Middlesbrough.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Weil joins a very short list of major firms that have collapsed—including Dewey & LeBoeuf, which employed more than 1,000 lawyers at its peak and filed for bankruptcy in 2012.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
She joins Spain team-mate Aitana Bonmati on three Ballon d'Or Feminin crowns - her former Barcelona colleague won the award in 2023, 2024 and 2025 after Putellas did so in 2021 and 2022.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
The wife gives up and joins her husband, who has inched to the left to lean up against the wall.
From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na
From Sunday to Friday, more than 413,000 workers joined the actions nationwide, which included more than 2,800, mostly small-scale strikes, Germany's biggest union said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
Jobe joined Dortmund from Sunderland in summer 2025 in a deal worth up to £31m, having helped the Wearside club win promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
She has also joined with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and some Republicans lawmakers in pushing to raise the limit on deposit insurance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Japan, which has a decades-old dispute with Moscow over a string of islands in the Pacific, has joined in some sanctions against Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
Sal said it looked like a cave painting and Karly joined in even though she always used to love his pictures.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Ramona Nee, who was poised to lead the now-defunct law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, is joining Kirkland & Ellis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Before joining the University of Missouri, Lin conducted experiments involving mice that carried APOE4.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
“He was throwing deli meat out there,” Rams safety Quentin Lake said this week on the “St. Brown Podcast,” apparently joining the current inclination of using sandwich-related metaphors to describe bad passes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
Then on Thursday, Eisenkot and the two Arab leaders—Mansour Abbas of United Arab List and Yousef Jabareen of Joint List—announced they were joining forces after all.
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2026
“Would you mind joining me in my office for a quick chat, Fern? I have a couple of things I’d like to talk over with you.”
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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