affiliate

American  

[uh-fil-ee-ayt, uh-fil-ee-it, -ayt] / əˈfɪl iˌeɪt, əˈfɪl i ɪt, -ˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• affiliates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• affiliated,
  past participle,  past
• affiliating
  present participle

1. to bring into close association or connection of action or interest: You can download resources to affiliate your event with our fundraising campaign.

   The research center is affiliated with the university.

   You can download resources to affiliate your event with our fundraising campaign.

2. to attach or unite (oneself or another person) in fellowship or membership; associate (usually followed by with in U.S. usage, by to in British usage).

   He affiliated himself with almost every group dedicated to improving the economic condition of the individual farmer.

   Some of the Greek mixed-faith families affiliated their children to Orthodox Christianity, others to Islam.

3. to trace the descent, derivation, or origin of.

   Competing hypotheses affiliate the language with either Afroasiatic or Nilo-Saharan.

4. to integrate or extend membership to; adopt (as an affiliate).

   The National Golf Federation affiliated the club, giving it an immediate prestige.

5. to connect or associate in thought.

   Many people tend to affiliate the sciences with better pay and job security.

6. Law. to fix the paternity of, as an illegitimate child.

   The mother affiliated her child upon John Doe.

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verb (used without object)

• affiliates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• affiliated,
  past participle,  past
• affiliating
  present participle

1. to associate oneself; be intimately united in action or interest.

   Our health advocacy group affiliates with hospitals equipped with the best facilities.

noun

• affiliates
  plural

1. a branch organization.

2. Commerce.

   1. a business concern in which a larger concern owns a minority stake, or in which a third concern, the parent of both, owns a majority stake or has been given control by contract.

      The video was reportedly broadcast on STV, an affiliate of Global Television, on September 30, 1999.

   2. (especially in online retail) a company that retails goods on behalf of one or more other companies, paying them a commission.

      Cookies are used to track a customer's progress from the website of the affiliate through to the shopping cart of the merchant.

   3. (in U.S. tax law) subsidiary.

      Development Tax Credits are not available for property owned by the taxpayer or an affiliate prior to July 3, 2000.

3. a person who is affiliated; associate; subordinate.

affiliate British  

verb

1. (tr; foll by to or with) to receive into close connection or association (with a larger body, group, organization, etc); adopt as a member, branch, etc

2. (foll by with) to associate (oneself) or be associated, esp as a subordinate or subsidiary; bring or come into close connection

   he affiliated himself with the Union

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noun

1. 1. a person or organization that is affiliated with another

   2. ( as modifier )

      an affiliate member

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• affiliation
  noun
• nonaffiliate
  noun
• preaffiliate
  noun
• preaffiliate
  verb
• reaffiliate
  verb
• affiliable
  adjective
• affiliative
  adjective
• nonaffiliating
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• affiliates
  plural

Participles

• affiliating
  present
• affiliated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• affiliate
  simple
• affiliates
  simple
• have affiliated
  perfect
• has affiliated
  perfect
• am affiliating
  progressive
• are affiliating
  progressive
• is affiliating
  progressive
• have been affiliating
  perfect progressive
• has been affiliating
  perfect progressive

Past

• affiliated
  simple
• had affiliated
  perfect
• was affiliating
  progressive
• were affiliating
  progressive
• had been affiliating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will affiliate
  simple
• will have affiliated
  perfect
• will be affiliating
  progressive
• will have been affiliating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of affiliate

First recorded in 1755–65; from Latin affīliātus “adopted as son” (past participle of affīliāre ), equivalent to af- af- + fīli(us) “son” + -ātus -ate ¹

Explanation

An affiliate is a subordinate group or organization associated with a larger group or organization. For example, the American broadcasting company NBC has hundreds of affiliate stations around the country. Affiliate comes from the Medieval Latin term affiliat, meaning "adopted as a son," though it's unlikely NBC sees its affiliate companies in quite that way. The word can also be used to describe someone who simply hangs out with someone else a lot, or keeps company with them regularly, whether for business or not.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

affiliate affiliates affiliated affiliating

She initially didn’t want to report: “I’d always considered myself a strong person, and so I was embarrassed,” she told a local ABC affiliate in a video interview.

From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2026

The second-largest investment is in a debt deal with Clarus Capital, an equipment finance company that is not a Walter affiliate but has longstanding business ties to Guggenheim.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Once the writing was finished, Seiler, an affiliate of Berkeley SETI, rolled up the papyrus, sealed it inside a container, placed it in a high-temperature furnace, and burned it until it was thoroughly carbonized.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

Ridership improved under the chief executive of affiliate Brightline Train Development, Nicolas Petrovic, who joined from Eurostar earlier this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

She accepted as a representative of the Daughters of Temperance, the women’s affiliate group.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Leading the Future has raised more than $75 million, and its Democratic and Republican affiliates have spent a total of about $34 million, according to data as of Thursday from the Tech Oversight Project.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

The Boring Company on Thursday said it had closed a Series D financing round led by the United Arab Emirates and its affiliates that values the company at $23 billion.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

Almost all of the $5.2 billion of short-term loans Walter’s insurers made last year turn out to have gone to affiliates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Last year, ABC temporarily suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after Carr publicly suggested broadcasters could face consequences over Kimmel’s comments and encouraged affiliates to push back against the network.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

I'm emailing folks at CNN, MSNBC, the networks, local and regional affiliates.

From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon

Some members worry the vote could jeopardize reciprocal privileges with more than 100 affiliated international clubs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

Co-author Michael Brookfield, an affiliated researcher at the school, also passed away before the paper was published.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026

He explained a growing circular investment, in which private-equity firms buy a private-credit unit and then buy an insurer, which in turn buys the loans from the affiliated private-credit company.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO, which is affiliated with the Royal Navy, reported Sunday that no confirmed attacks or disruptions had occurred in Hormuz during the preceding 72 hours, although the threat remained severe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Most innovations in the field of child safety are affiliated with— shock of shocks—a new product to be marketed.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Its pitch to companies is that by affiliating with Texas, you’ll be rewarded.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

While still being formulated, it is thought the proposal could involve a local administration of technocrats drawn from Palestinians in Gaza, without affiliating to factions including Hamas.

From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2025

Unaffiliated voters must sign a document affiliating with the party and affirming that they have not participated in any other party’s nominating contest this year.

From Seattle Times ● May 17, 2024

In a statement before the court, Mr. Morrison renounced the Wolverine Watchmen and voiced regret for affiliating with anti-government extremist groups.

From New York Times ● Dec. 15, 2022

But what economically affluent group was ever consistently radical, affiliating itself with the aspirations of the poor?

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Related Words

• branch
• partner