assign

[uh-sahyn]

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

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

noun

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

/ 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

noun

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of assign¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of assign¹

C14: from Old French assigner, from Latin assignāre, from signāre to mark out

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

One problem here is that robots assigned to specific tasks don’t need to look like humans.

From Los Angeles Times

Garrett is on administrative leave, receiving full pay and assigned to home.

From Los Angeles Times

Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist University Institute for Public Opinion, said his polling suggested Americans were largely split down party lines when it came to assigning fault for the shutdown.

From BBC

On July 1, the agency took over the process of assigning homeless people to roughly 5,000 of those beds, adding to 5,000 it already had controlled.

From Los Angeles Times

"It roughly affects about one in ten women and those assigned female at birth, but it's quite a misunderstood and under diagnosed condition," she said.

From BBC

Related Words

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