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 insisted that the U.S. needed to annex Greenland for its own security and that of the wider Western Hemisphere and initially sought to pressure Denmark, the Arctic island’s sovereign authority, to sell it.

From The Wall Street Journal

Denmark opposes U.S. annexation threats, stating there is no legal basis for the U.S. to annex its territory.

From Barron's

He also began his second term by repeatedly suggesting that he wanted to annex Canada as America’s 51st state.

From The Wall Street Journal

Even the seemingly fanciful suggestion of annexing Greenland is back in the headlines.

From Barron's

The US president and senior members of his administration have repeatedly raised the prospect of the semi-autonomous Danish territory becoming an annexed part of the United States.

From BBC

Related Words

• addendum
• appendix