affiliate

American  

[uh-fil-ee-eyt, uh-fil-ee-it, -eyt] / 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

Instead, Damascus belongs to Ahmed al-Sharaa, a Sunni leader and former commander of al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, who had fought Hezbollah for years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

A city-commissioned inspection report found that waste and high temperatures at the warehouse could speed up the breeding of flies capable of infecting wounds in both people and animals, a local NBC affiliate reported, external.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

The change reflects savings related to Rothera, a new affiliate exchange, and the acquisition of trading platform WonderFi.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

The insurers, Delaware Life Insurance and its affiliate Clear Spring Life and Annuity, disclosed the investigations in June regulatory filings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

After it sponsored a membership drive for the foundering local branch of the NAACP, the civil rights organization grew from 11 to nearly 2,000 members, making it the largest affiliate in the state.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Pathstone and its affiliates may have positions in or provide advisory services related to securities or strategies discussed herein.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

In July, the EU put A7’s African affiliates in its latest round of anti-Russia sanctions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

In 2023, CEO of People Assisting the Homeless and its affiliates — one of L.A.’s largest providers of homelessness services, with annual revenue of $175 million — earned roughly $379,000.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

The payments are due to begin in 2027, "in exchange for a full release of all claims the US states and territories asserted against it and its affiliates", the Basel-based group said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

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

From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon

Following questions from prosecutors about TWG’s business practices, an internal review found some $20 billion worth of affiliated loans that hadn’t been properly disclosed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

All of the study authors are affiliated with either the Glenn Biggs Institute or The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

“The dividend was never something that arrives automatically,” said Apoorva Jadhav, a demographer affiliated with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a U.S. think tank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Nominations close on 17 August, with party members and affiliated supporters voting between 28 August and 17 September.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Teenagers from the North spend two months to two years at Hangyoreh Middle-High School, a government-funded remedial boarding school affiliated with Hanawon.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

TXSE’s pitch to companies is that affiliating with the state of Texas is the smart business play.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 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

In May, both A.L.U. factions visited the Teamsters headquarters in Washington, where Teamsters officials pitched them on the idea of affiliating, Mr. Smalls said.

From New York Times ● Jun. 18, 2024

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

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