assign

[ uh-sahyn ]

/ əˈsaɪn /

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See synonyms for: assign / assigned / assigning on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to give or allocate; allot: to assign rooms at a hotel.

to give out or announce as a task: to assign homework.

to appoint, as to a post or duty: to assign one to guard duty.

to designate; name; specify: to assign a day for a meeting.

to ascribe; attribute; bring forward: to assign a cause.

Law. to transfer: to assign a contract.

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

verb (used without object)

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

noun

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

OTHER WORDS FOR assign

4 fix, determine.

5 adduce, allege, advance, show, offer.

See synonyms for assign on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of assign

1250–1300; Middle English assignen<Old French assigner<Latin assignāre.See as-, sign

synonym study for assign

1. 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 WORDS FROM assign

as·sign·er; Chiefly Law. as·sign·or

[uh-sahy-nawr, as-uh-nawr], /ə saɪˈnɔr, ˌæs əˈnɔr/, nounmis·as·sign, verbnon·as·signed, adjectivepre·as·sign, verb (used with object)

pre·as·signed, adjectivere·as·sign, verb (used with object)self-as·signed, adjectiveun·as·signed, adjectivewell-as·signed, adjective

Words nearby assign

assibilate, Assidean, assiduity, assiduous, assiduously, assign, assignable, assignat, assignation, assigned counsel, assigned risk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use assign in a sentence

It is designed to listen to meetings with multiple participants and will parse discussion patterns to produce informative synopses and assign post-meeting action items.
In pursuit of pragmatic solutions to pervasive problems|Francesca Fanshawe|March 31, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Such randomized, double-blinded controlled trials randomly assign patients to receive a drug or a placebo, and don’t reveal to participants or doctors who is getting which.
The arthritis drug tocilizumab doesn’t appear to help fight COVID-19|Aimee Cunningham|October 23, 2020|Science News
That AI could pore over an astronaut’s symptoms and then recommend medical tests, make diagnoses and assign treatments.
Surviving Mars missions will take planning and lots of innovation|Maria Temming|October 22, 2020|Science News For Students
So I rose beyond cleaning, to working as an operational dispatcher for cabin services in the American Airlines traffic control center, assign cleaning crews to each incoming aircraft.
What I learned from 5 years of cleaning airplanes in the middle of the night|matthewheimer|August 30, 2020|Fortune

Ideally, the Mars spaceship would be equipped with artificial intelligence that could consider an astronaut’s symptoms, recommend medical tests, make diagnoses and assign treatments.
What will astronauts need to survive the dangerous journey to Mars?|Maria Temming|July 15, 2020|Science News
Now the Kremlin will assign more loyal people to rule the region, mostly military leaders.
Recession? Devaluation? Inflation? Putin Tells Russia Stay the Course.|Anna Nemtsova|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When we assign a primitive “not me” status to another individual or social group, it can—and does—take us down a destructive path.
Ferguson, Immigration, and ‘Us Vs. Them’|Gene Robinson|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Other folks can debate and assign blame for “who lost Iraq.”
Iran Is the Biggest Loser in Iraq|Aki Peritz|June 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Renee Richardson knows she'll likely never be able to assign blame for her son's death—she's done fighting for that.
What Military Base Shootings Reveal About the Mental Health Debate|Caitlin Dickson|February 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Girls are directed through several pages of this until they are asked to assign the guy a series of pre-decided adjectives.
Meet Lulu: An App That Lets Girls Rate Guys Anonymously|Isabel Wilkinson|August 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The designs of Russia have long been proverbial; but the exercise of the new art of printing may assign them new features.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
With what honest pride did John Smith, the best farmer of them all, step to the fore and assign to each man his place!
Dorothy at Skyrie|Evelyn Raymond
If the lessee die, his executor or administrator can assign the remainder of his term.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
As the lessee may assign or sublet unless forbidden, so may the lessor part with his interest in the leased premises.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
If offered any dish of which you do not wish to partake, decline it, but do not assign any reason.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness|Florence Hartley

British Dictionary definitions for assign

assign

/ (əˈsaɪn) /

verb (mainly tr)

to select for and appoint to a post, etcto assign an expert to the job

to give out or allot (a task, problem, etc)to assign advertising to an expert

to set apart (a place, person, time, etc) for a particular function or eventto assign a day for the meeting

to attribute to a specified cause, origin, or source; ascribeto assign a stone cross to the Vikings

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

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

military to allocate (men or materials) on a permanent basisCompare attach (def. 6)

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

noun

law a person to whom property is assigned; assignee

Derived forms of assign

assignable, adjectiveassignability, nounassignably, adverbassigner, noun

Word Origin for assign

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

assign

OTHER WORDS FOR assign

Origin of assign

synonym study for assign

OTHER WORDS FROM assign

Words nearby assign

Words related to assign

How to use assign in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for assign

Derived forms of assign

Word Origin for assign