annex

American  

[uh-neks, an-eks, an-eks, -iks] / əˈnɛks, ˈæn ɛks, ˈæn ɛks, -ɪks /

verb (used with object)

1. to attach, append, or add, especially to something larger or more important.

2. to incorporate (territory) into the domain of a city, country, or state.

   Germany annexed part of Czechoslovakia.

3. to take or appropriate, especially without permission.

4. to attach as an attribute, condition, or consequence.

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noun

1. something annexed.

2. a subsidiary building or an addition to a building.

   The emergency room is in the annex of the main building.

3. something added to a document; appendix; supplement.

   an annex to a treaty.

annex British  

verb

1. to join or add, esp to something larger; attach

2. to add (territory) by conquest or occupation

3. to add or append as a condition, warranty, etc

4. to appropriate without permission

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noun

1. a variant spelling (esp US) of annexe

Other Word Forms

• annexable adjective
• nonannexable adjective
• preannex verb (used with object)
• reannex verb (used with object)
• unannexable adjective

Etymology

Origin of annex

First recorded in 1350–1400; (verb) Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French annexer, from Medieval Latin annexāre, derivative of Latin annexus “tied to,” past participle of annectere ( annectent ); (noun) from French annexe or noun use of verb

Example Sentences

He described American threats to annex Denmark's autonomous territory of Greenland "mind-boggling".

From Barron's

Austria -- which was annexed by Hitler's Germany in 1938 -- has repeatedly been criticised in the past for not fully acknowledging its responsibility in the Holocaust.

From Barron's

The most dangerous suspects at Al-Hol were held at a separate annex and in a network of prisons across the country.

From The Wall Street Journal

The transition to “West Bank” occurred in 1950, when Jordan annexed the territory.

From The Wall Street Journal

Adek and I attended the same university, and I found him outside the library, lecturing to a trio of enthralled young ladies about the dangers facing our neighbor Czechoslovakia now that Germany had annexed Austria.

From Literature

Related Words

• addendum
• appendix