assign

American  

[uh-sahyn] / əˈsaɪn /

verb (used with object)

• assigns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• assigned,
  past participle,  past
• assigning
  present participle

1. to give or allocate; allot.

   to assign rooms at a hotel.

2. to give out or announce as a task.

   to assign homework.

3. to appoint, as to a post or duty.

   to assign one to guard duty.

4. to designate; name; specify.

   to assign a day for a meeting.

   Synonyms:

   determine, fix

5. to ascribe; attribute; bring forward.

   to assign a cause.

   Synonyms:

   offer, show, advance, allege, adduce

6. Law. to transfer.

   to assign a contract.

7. Military. to place permanently on duty with a unit or under a commander.

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verb (used without object)

• assigns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• assigned,
  past participle,  past
• assigning
  present participle

1. Law. to transfer property, especially in trust or for the benefit of creditors.

noun

• assigns
  plural

1. Law. Usually assigns. a person to whom the property or interest of another is or may be transferred; assignee.

   my heirs and assigns.

assign British  

/ əˈsaɪn /

verb

1. to select for and appoint to a post, etc

   to assign an expert to the job

2. to give out or allot (a task, problem, etc)

   to assign advertising to an expert

3. to set apart (a place, person, time, etc) for a particular function or event

   to assign a day for the meeting

4. to attribute to a specified cause, origin, or source; ascribe

   to assign a stone cross to the Vikings

5. to transfer (one's right, interest, or title to property) to someone else

6. (also intr) law (formerly) to transfer (property) to trustees so that it may be used for the benefit of creditors

7. military to allocate (men or materials) on a permanent basis Compare attach

8. computing to place (a value corresponding to a variable) in a memory location

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noun

1. law a person to whom property is assigned; assignee

Synonym Usage

Assign, allocate, allot mean to apportion or measure out. To assign is to distribute available things, designating them to be given to or reserved for specific persons or purposes: to assign duties. To allocate is to earmark or set aside parts of things available or expected in the future, each for a specific purpose: to allocate income to various types of expenses. To allot implies making restrictions as to amount, size, purpose, etc., and then apportioning or assigning: to allot spaces for parking.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• assignability
  noun
• assigner
  noun
• misassign
  verb
• preassign
  verb (used with object)
• reassign
  verb (used with object)
• assignable
  adjective
• nonassigned
  adjective
• preassigned
  adjective
• self-assigned
  adjective
• unassigned
  adjective
• well-assigned
  adjective
• assignably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• assigns
  plural

Participles

• assigning
  present
• assigned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• assign
  simple
• assigns
  simple
• have assigned
  perfect
• has assigned
  perfect
• am assigning
  progressive
• are assigning
  progressive
• is assigning
  progressive
• have been assigning
  perfect progressive
• has been assigning
  perfect progressive

Past

• assigned
  simple
• had assigned
  perfect
• was assigning
  progressive
• were assigning
  progressive
• had been assigning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will assign
  simple
• will have assigned
  perfect
• will be assigning
  progressive
• will have been assigning
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of assign

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English assignen, from Old French assigner, from Latin assignāre; equivalent to as- + sign

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Explanation

To assign is to specify something or someone for a specific purpose. If your sisters fight over whose turn it is to sit in the front seat, your parents may have to assign turns. The verb assign also means to transfer legal rights. You assign the deed to your house to new owners when you sell it. If you sort things into categories by characteristics, you are assigning them categories. When you make a budget, you assign each expense a category. Food and housing, for example, may be essential living expenses and medicine and doctor's visits may be health care. Chocolate gets its own category.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

assign assigns assigned assigning

In other words, identical behavior did not lead people to assign the same level of consciousness to humans and machines.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

Extreme fraternity and sorority pledging often hinges on a harsh power dynamic: Aspiring members must complete whatever tasks the recruitment leaders assign them—and are punished if they refuse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

One proposal to promote evaluator independence would be for regulators to assign auditors from a licensed pool instead of having the labs hire their own auditors directly.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

Ellison and longtime Skydance investor, RedBird Capital Partners, then entered into agreements to assign some of their purchase rights to the sovereign wealth funds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

“Mr. Godwin thinks it’s best if I don’t assign papers for this story. He thinks it’s best to just move on to the next unit.”

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds

This method assigns average calorie values to each gram of fat, carbohydrates, and protein, then uses those values to calculate the total available energy.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

The Federal Communications Commission assigns and oversees licenses for radio and television broadcast frequencies.

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

“What we object to is a review that misstates the plan’s contents and reaches beyond the issues the Education Code assigns to the county, all while threatening escalation.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Morningstar assigns a fair-value estimate of $35.20 for Southwest shares; they currently trading at roughly 30% above that.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

When I can find no more surfaces to wipe and have finally exhausted the supply of rooms, Maddy assigns me to do the kitchen floor.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

In the Paris region alone, some 200 investigators have been assigned to examine security camera footage and videos posted on social media.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Trading cards and other collectibles are verified and assigned condition grades by PSA, which establishes their value and protects them by assigning serial numbers and certification information.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

In the summer of 2024, Kate Fifield, a prosecutor in the Justice Department’s anti-corruption section, had been assigned to join the case.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

The Department of Veterans Affairs assigned him a 70 percent disability rating, later increasing it to 80 percent on appeal.

From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2026

She was a strong digger but had no finesse, so he assigned her the task of building up the low ridge that kept the garden soggy when it rained.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Futures markets expect the Fed to hold rates steady in October, assigning only a 17% probability of an increase.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 17, 2026

James Blunt immediately took control, assigning players various different roles.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

They ended up splitting the class and assigning more students to other teachers, she said.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026

In high school, his English teacher “amused himself by assigning me to play the part of Shylock.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

What I did mind was that being white seemed to play so important a part in the assigning of values.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

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Related Words

• accredit
• allow
• appoint
• attach
• authorize
• charge
• commit
• designate
• draft
• elect
• empower
• entrust
• hire
• name
• nominate
• refer
• select

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