assemble
verb (used with object)
to bring together or gather into one place, company, body, or whole.
assemble
1 American
[uh-sem-buhl]
/ əˈsɛm bəl /
verb (used with object)
-
assembles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
assembled,
past participle, past
-
assembling
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
assembles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
assembled,
past participle, past
-
assembling
present participle
assemblé
2
American
[a -sahn -bley]
/ a sɑ̃ˈbleɪ /
noun
Ballet.
-
assemblés
plural
assemble
1
British
/ əˈsɛmbəl /
verb
-
to come or bring together; collect or congregate
-
to fit or join together (the parts of something, such as a machine)
to assemble the parts of a kit
-
to run (a computer program) that converts a set of symbolic data, usually in the form of specific single-step instructions, into machine language
assemblé
2
British
/ asɑ̃ble /
noun
Usage
What does assemble mean? Assemble means to bring together in one place, as in I assembled all of the ingredients for a chocolate cake on the table. Assemble can also mean to put or fit things together, as in Ikea is known for selling furniture that you have to assemble. And assemble can mean to come together or meet up, as in The school staff assembled for a meeting. When used generally, assemble can be used as a synonym for words such as gather, collect, and amass. When used specifically, assemble often means gathering things to arrange them in a proper order or placement, as when you assemble all the parts to build a computer. Alternatively, assemble can mean to put things or parts together. This meaning is often used when referring to building or making something, as in Shontel will need to assemble several bookshelves using only a box of wooden planks. In this sense, assemble is often used to refer to fitting manufactured parts together to make a final product or device. For example, a person would assemble a Lego brick set by snapping the parts together. Both assembly and assemblage are used to refer to something that has been assembled, as in The president spoke to an assembly of world leaders. Example: She assembled a team of scientists so they could all work together on the secret project.
Synonym Usage
See gather. See manufacture.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
assemblesimple
-
assemblessimple
-
have assembledperfect
-
has assembledperfect
-
am assemblingprogressive
-
are assemblingprogressive
-
is assemblingprogressive
-
have been assemblingperfect progressive
-
has been assemblingperfect progressive
Past
-
assembledsimple
-
had assembledperfect
-
was assemblingprogressive
-
were assemblingprogressive
-
had been assemblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of assemble1
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English, from Old French assembler, from Vulgar Latin assimulāre (unrecorded) “to bring together,” from Latin as- as- + simul “together” ( cf. simultaneous) + -āre, infinitive verb suffix
Origin of assemblé2
First recorded in 1820–30; from French, past participle of assembler; see assemble
Explanation
To assemble means to bring together, as in people or parts. The volunteers assembled to assemble the bikes for the needy kids. The U.S. Constitution guarantees in something in the Bill of Rights called "the right of assembly." This means that people are allowed to come together for any purpose they chose. In countries without this right, groups who assemble can be disbanded with the idea that they may be assembling a revolution.
Vocabulary lists containing assemble
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The Bill of Rights
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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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:
Besides Picnic, other companies that have come and gone include Zume, external and Pazzi, which used, external robot arms to assemble pizzas, as well as Basil Street, external, a purveyor of pizza vending machines.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
At the Unitree booth, a robot made a sandwich with two slices of bread and a single piece of lettuce, pinching the leaf to assemble it.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Those networks can then generate traveling waves that help the brain determine the most likely causes of incoming sensory information and assemble an internal model of the surrounding world.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026
Editing is traditionally a solitary art form, its practitioners working after shooting has wrapped to assemble the story from the captured footage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
We go now to assemble our neighbors in the order that the prophecy dictates.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
But moments after taking off for a double assemblé to the left — a jump in which the legs assemble, or meet in the air — things went terribly wrong.
From New York Times ● Oct. 30, 2022
She loved "le jeu, les visites, les assemblés, les cadeaux, et les promenades, en un mot toutes les choses de plasir," and wished to marry to get free from the trammels of her home.
From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer
Ford employs more factory workers and assembles more cars in the U.S. than any of its competitors; some 80% of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. are built there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Gruel demonstrates a knife-sharpening technique, assembles the salad and plates the salmon cakes.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Thor battles Doctor Doom, reunites with Steve Rogers and assembles a crossover superteam in the new ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ trailer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
He sits down to read or assembles more hunting equipment.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 2026
As daylight turns to evening, Custer assembles his men for one final charge.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
The monthly BLS employment report, on the other hand, is assembled from much smaller polls of households and companies instead of actual tax records.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
Manufacturer Blakcro, which is based in Wiltshire, say the machines can be assembled in eight minutes and launched on foot.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
By winter, I had about six of these packs stacked flat in the freezer like little files, assembled for less than $20 total.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
Now the ideal man looks like he was assembled by Marvel Studios, before being buffed with an orbital sander.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Lippmann had staged this great game of tug-of-war, assembled a team to pull on his end of the rope, and now his teammates were in full flight.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Now, the 44-year-old Fuld is no longer worrying about assembling the Phillies’ roster.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
The over-35s team based in south Manchester attracted attention last year for assembling a squad full of former Premier League players.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Standard methods for assembling long DNA molecules typically use restriction enzymes to make cuts and T4 DNA ligase to connect the resulting fragments.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
Foxconn, whose official name is Hon Hai Precision Industry, has gone beyond assembling low-margin iPhones to making AI servers for US tech giant Nvidia, along with electric vehicles and robots.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
For now, we were a ragged caravan assembling ourselves after a long night without rest.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
