adjoin
Americanverb (used with object)
-
adjoins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
adjoined,
past participle, past
-
adjoining
present participle
-
to be close to or in contact with; abut on.
His property adjoins the lake.
-
to attach or append; affix.
verb (used without object)
-
adjoins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
adjoined,
past participle, past
-
adjoining
present participle
verb
-
to be next to (an area of land, etc)
-
to join; affix or attach
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
adjoinsimple
-
adjoinssimple
-
have adjoinedperfect
-
has adjoinedperfect
-
am adjoiningprogressive
-
are adjoiningprogressive
-
is adjoiningprogressive
-
have been adjoiningperfect progressive
-
has been adjoiningperfect progressive
Past
-
adjoinedsimple
-
had adjoinedperfect
-
was adjoiningprogressive
-
were adjoiningprogressive
-
had been adjoiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of adjoin
1275–1325; Middle English a ( d ) joinen < Middle French ajoindre. See ad-, join
Explanation
Things that adjoin are next to each other or share a boundary. Two adjoining states are neighbors. The United States adjoins Canada. Just as the word join suggests togetherness, things that adjoin are together in a specific way. They're adjacent, which means they're butting right up against one other. Two adjoining buildings are connected or next-door neighbors. Two adjoining states share a border. If two rooms adjoin, they are connected by a door or they share a wall. When things adjoin, they have a physical connection.
Vocabulary lists containing adjoin
Close Encounters: Synonyms for "Near"
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The Dawes Act
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The Marrow Thieves
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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:
The witness was also asked by the lawyer about safety issues that could have arisen for local families whose back gardens adjoin the waste ground where the culvert is located.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
Both major projects will adjoin the new transport infrastructure.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 18, 2023
Citing previous Court opinions, the plurality stated that an adjacent wetland must abut or adjoin a regulated water.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 11, 2023
Our offices adjoin and she is continually coming in, making herself at home, and peppering me with questions.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 7, 2022
This 'dining hall' where I now sit, however, is a modem annexe built to adjoin the main building - a long, flat room characterized by rows of large windows on either side.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
One woman suffered injuries in the Gorkha district, which adjoins Dhading, when she jumped from a two-story building, Parajuli said.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 22, 2023
The result expands the scope of Americana at a moment when that roots-oriented genre — and the larger country-music realm it adjoins — are facing complicated questions about representation and inclusion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
The Barents Sea, which adjoins the Arctic Ocean, is one of the most productive oceanic areas in the world and home to an enormous diversity of organisms.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2023
But last summer the house that adjoins their own started receiving a stream of male visitors at all hours of the day.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2023
One rumor originating in Hartman’s Cafe involved Taylor Jones, a rancher whose property adjoins River Valley Farm.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
If data centers occupy the caverns, any improper water management or heat discharge could quickly become an immediate risk to adjoined residential neighborhoods.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2023
That structure consists of adjoined cubes that rest on unarticulated columns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2022
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a Democrat whose district would have adjoined Ryan’s.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 11, 2022
So I went to my room, that adjoined Father’s, and wasted time on my phone screen, and thought how I could be doing this at home, and fell asleep.
From Slate ● Dec. 29, 2020
In the laboratory, which adjoined the parlor, Dad, his movie cameraman, a nurse, and Dr. Burton were converting a desk into an operating table, and setting up the cross-section background and lights.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
In the adjoining Avila region a little further west, another inferno raging since last week has become the biggest since Spain's records began in 1961, burning 50,000 hectares.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
The organization has partnered with the city on the campus’ redesign since 2012, when planning began to incorporate a vacant lot adjoining the towers into the campus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Three indoor privies were lighted by skylights and ingeniously ventilated by a 150-foot-long lateral tunnel that drew in air and discharged it through adjoining chimneys, providing a continuous draft.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
The company spent £500,000 creating the pub and adjoining off-license, hiring eight additional staff members.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
But instead the display is homey and cheerful, and, with the pickles and olives across the aisle and the bath and laundry soaps adjoining, the rows upon rows of insecticides are displayed.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
