arrange
Americanverb (used with object)
-
arranges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
arranged,
past participle, past
-
arranging
present participle
-
to place in proper, desired, or convenient order; adjust properly.
to arrange books on a shelf.
-
to come to an agreement or understanding regarding.
The two sides arranged the sale of the property.
-
to prepare or plan.
to arrange the details of a meeting.
-
Music. to adapt (a composition) for a particular style of performance by voices or instruments.
verb (used without object)
-
arranges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
arranged,
past participle, past
-
arranging
present participle
-
to make plans or preparations.
They arranged for a conference on Wednesday.
-
to make a settlement; come to an agreement.
to arrange with the coal company for regular deliveries.
verb
-
(tr) to put into a proper, systematic, or decorative order
-
(tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to arrive at an agreement or understanding about; settle
-
to make plans or preparations in advance (for something)
we arranged for her to be met
-
(tr) to adapt (a musical composition) for performance in a different way, esp on different instruments
-
(tr) to adapt (a play, etc) for broadcasting
-
to come to an agreement
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
arrangernoun
-
overarrangeverb
-
rearrangeverb
-
arrangeableadjective
-
rearrangeableadjective
-
unarrangedadjective
-
well-arrangedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
arrangesimple
-
arrangessimple
-
have arrangedperfect
-
has arrangedperfect
-
am arrangingprogressive
-
are arrangingprogressive
-
is arrangingprogressive
-
have been arrangingperfect progressive
-
has been arrangingperfect progressive
Past
-
arrangedsimple
-
had arrangedperfect
-
was arrangingprogressive
-
were arrangingprogressive
-
had been arrangingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of arrange
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English arayngen, from Middle French arangier; equivalent to a- 5 + range
Explanation
Think it might be fun to be a party planner? These highly organized people arrange everything from invitations to music, food, even the lighting in the room, meaning they put everything in order. At a concert, you look in your program to see what piece is next. There's a title, followed by the composer's name. Under that is another name, preceded by "arranged by." What does that mean? Every piece was originally written with a certain instrument or instruments in mind. In order for that music to be played by other instruments, it first has to be adapted, meaning someone has to arrange it. A symphony for kazoos? You can arrange that.
Vocabulary lists containing arrange
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Marvels
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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 driverless-trucking companies arrange for attendants at a gas station to fill them up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
The sales were conducted on Monday via a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, which is a program that allows corporate insiders to arrange for preset sales based on certain conditions.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
The delay had consequences, he warned: major artists book engagements years in advance, limiting what organizers can now arrange.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
It also helps arrange travel by purchasing seats on commercial flights and reselling them, and in some cases has chartered aircraft.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
When parts of my face casing broke off, why didn’t she arrange for repairs?
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
His patch is on top of an empty water tank, where he spreads out a sheet and arranges two pillows.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Citizen detectives like Diarra Brickland, who arranges her messy life around ensuring that the people and prizes typically overlooked or quietly erased by the mainstream keep being seen, are even less common.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
Neill plays the awkward, ignorant Scottish farmer who arranges for a mail-order marriage with Holly Hunter’s mute pianist and then becomes possessive and driven to jealous despair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
The first is the dread of contemporaneous discovery, which is no problem if a donor arranges for his or her diary to be sealed until the people in it are dead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
Lourdes arranges for her eldest brother, Marco Antonio Zablah, to take him in.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
But scientists can also create structured light -- light whose brightness, shape, and direction are carefully arranged.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
But with Xuan and Zhang controlling the firm that arranged the surrogate births, no one looked into their backgrounds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Eight years later, Chris tried to trace him again, but it wasn't until he was 33 that a meeting was finally arranged.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
He was part of a hastily arranged “reform” slate meant to steer the union past a corruption scandal that sent two former UAW presidents to federal prison.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
They arranged to meet at the Bronx Zoo.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Local authorities are also arranging burials for those who have died, while the survivors - all Ethiopian nationals - have medical care readily available to them.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Rather than arranging atoms only in a line, they hope to study grids of atoms as well.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
This distinction matters because authorship isn’t merely credit for arranging words.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Mark Clews, who lives near Callington, said he had delayed filling his tank this summer while arranging a replacement.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Girls swished in and out of the dressing rooms while the seamstresses, hair stylist, and makeup artist fluttered about, arranging and adjusting them.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
