arrange
Americanverb (used with object)
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to place in proper, desired, or convenient order; adjust properly.
to arrange books on a shelf.
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to come to an agreement or understanding regarding.
The two sides arranged the sale of the property.
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to prepare or plan.
to arrange the details of a meeting.
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Music. to adapt (a composition) for a particular style of performance by voices or instruments.
verb (used without object)
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to make plans or preparations.
They arranged for a conference on Wednesday.
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to make a settlement; come to an agreement.
to arrange with the coal company for regular deliveries.
verb
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(tr) to put into a proper, systematic, or decorative order
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(tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to arrive at an agreement or understanding about; settle
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to make plans or preparations in advance (for something)
we arranged for her to be met
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(tr) to adapt (a musical composition) for performance in a different way, esp on different instruments
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(tr) to adapt (a play, etc) for broadcasting
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to come to an agreement
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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arrangernoun
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overarrangeverb
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rearrangeverb
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arrangeableadjective
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rearrangeableadjective
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unarrangedadjective
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well-arrangedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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arrangesimple
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arrangessimple
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have arrangedperfect
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has arrangedperfect
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am arrangingprogressive
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are arrangingprogressive
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is arrangingprogressive
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have been arrangingperfect progressive
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has been arrangingperfect progressive
Past
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arrangedsimple
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had arrangedperfect
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was arrangingprogressive
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were arrangingprogressive
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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
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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:
When flames reached the village of Robledo de Chavela, Rosa, 56, refused to leave at first because she wanted to arrange for carers to rescue the feral cats that she keeps.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Cut one sheet of puff pastry into four rectangles and arrange them on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Or it might refer you to an independent adviser that can help arrange the transfer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Even if you are his legal next of kin, it does not obligate you to administer his estate or arrange the funeral.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
It might not be so easy to arrange a rescue for Abby and Jonathan and another for his wife.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
From there, a cook either proceeds with furious off-the-cuff improvisation or arranges their mise en place and serenely moves through each step as instructed or based on their knowledge.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
If a person arranges an installment plan, Bandebo noted that’s not reflected as a delinquent payment.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 25, 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
Robertson arranges stargazing in her mobile observatory, night hikes, swims and meteor watch parties.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026
“The periodic table arranges elements according to their physical properties and to what else?”
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
Nearly everything in her apartment is secondhand, from the vintage Audubon prints arranged salon-style in the living room to the Navajo rugs and David Shrigley print she found at a garage sale.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
The council said it had arranged the independent beach risk assessment, which had advised improving signs about water safety.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Here, lightly edited for space and clarity, are a selection of those comments, arranged by the decade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Rather than waiting until collagen fibers visibly thin or fragment, future researchers may be able to identify the earliest warning signs by examining how the molecules are arranged.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
They arranged themselves in a circle, squatting on their haunches as they used to do.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Mags Rivett, director at Family Holiday Charity, which supports families with UK trips, says there are many benefits to arranging time away with children that don't require expensive travel.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
In 1871, Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev created the first periodic table by arranging elements according to increasing atomic numbers and intentionally left empty spaces for elements he believed had yet to be found.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
To promote it, the company is enlisting more than 200 creators, from professional influencers to niche fans of pottery, crafts or flower arranging.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
So she took solace in doing the little things, like arranging the locker room chairs beforegames.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
The cafés were just opening and the waiters were carrying out the comfortable white wicker chairs and arranging them around the marble-topped tables in the shade of the arcade.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
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.
