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

Etymology

Origin of assign

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

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

Zelensky separately said he planned to assign different people to manage different areas of foreign policy, and that he had offered Svyrydenko a new role leading "relations with a key partner", without elaborating.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

We were so excited to assign blame for the Platner fiasco in the first few entries that we forgot to offer anything forward-looking.

From Slate ● Jul. 11, 2026

Hubble images are processed using standard techniques that assign colors based on the wavelengths captured through the telescope's filters.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026

I do not assign genders to letter writers, but I do try to address all the options available to couples.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

After the fact, seismologists study measurements of the ground’s movement taken by seismographs and evaluate the damage done by the quake to decide what magnitude to assign to the event.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

Macquarie assigns a “medium probability” of modest escalation from here, “but a low probability for a return to a large-scale conflict, absent a serious miscalculation by either side.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

He served as secretary to the government of the federation, the office that assigns agencies their space and status, under Tinubu's predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

A VPN with an American IP address may be a virtual server hosted outside the United States, but it still assigns users a U.S.-based IP address.

From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026

He assigns Apple’s stock a neutral rating and a $270 price target.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 2026

At the end of the session, Namitha assigns Princeton problems for their next meeting.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

"Every person who was brought in was assigned a number, which was written on their forehead," said Saif Hamza, who was released after questioning.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

Participants who took the supplement also showed stronger grip and reduced sensitivity to pain, while the group had far fewer dropouts than those assigned to a digital physiotherapy program.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026

Musa al-Gharbi, a sociologist at Stony Brook University, tells the story of a professor at Columbia University who assigned the children’s board book, “Anti-Racist Baby,” in an introductory sociology class.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

The Orange County public defender’s office has not yet assigned her an attorney, the department said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

The detective assigned to the case was Edmond Locard, an early criminologist.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Boll believes Germany “banned” the film by not assigning it an age rating, fearing it could incite violence, making it unfit for German theatrical release.

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026

Harrigan wrote that “the split is especially desirable in assigning fairer immediate value to the studio and parks businesses.”

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

The ratings companies noted risks tied to SpaceX’s capital needs and nascent artificial intelligence business, while assigning a stable outlook.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

But both actors argue the show is less interested in assigning blame than exploring an uncomfortable situation from multiple perspectives.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

But I wanted to know what a teacher assigning the poem might want his or her students to discover.

From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher

Related Words

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