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:
Keep in mind that there’s no hard evidence that LLMs, which are essentially souped-up versions of the predictive text algorithm on your phone, are going to assemble into something so complex and godlike.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
When a new request arrives, researchers can rapidly assemble the necessary tools using components from the shared hub.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
After weighing all of these factors, I decided to plunge forward, and began to assemble a team that would help me get to a purchase agreement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
He tells me he is now spurred by the desire to assemble an archive specifically dedicated to the people — portraits of family and friends — who feel like home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
This large bare room in the hospital was where all the sick in the camp had to assemble, often standing outside in the rain for hours just to get through the door.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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
It assembles evidence in support of the plan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 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
After thousands of passes over the Moon, researchers have assembled maps precise enough to identify new craters, landslides, spacecraft landers, seismic faults, and possible signs of lava tubes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
Police have assembled a multidisciplinary team of detectives, intelligence officers, forensic experts and other specialists to investigate the deaths and establish whether there are links between the cases.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Through acquisitions of other tech firms, the company has assembled a portfolio of 17 owned properties totaling more than 2.2 million square feet, according to CoStar data.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Why weren’t the lawyers being assembled in the end zone?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
The roar that rises from the assembled paper-chainers very nearly raises the roof.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
Intelligence findings say Tehran is assembling stockpiled components into weapons in underground facilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
After 13 days of national mourning, the day began on Wednesday with ceremonial troops assembling at Akershus Fortress, the medieval castle where Harald was later laid to rest.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
In this role, the lawsuit said, she was responsible for originating and developing projects, attaching filmmakers, assembling financing and producing films from preproduction through delivery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Research has found that temperatures only slightly above freezing can be more effective than warmer conditions for assembling complex chains of amino acids.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026
As on the preceding afternoon, the trouble lay in assembling the cast.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
