correspond
Americanverb (used without object)
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corresponds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
corresponded,
past participle, past
-
corresponding
present participle
-
to be in agreement or conformity (often followed by with or to).
His actions do not correspond with his words.
-
to be similar or analogous; be equivalent in function, position, amount, etc. (usually followed by to).
The U.S. Congress corresponds to the British Parliament.
-
to communicate by exchange of letters.
verb
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to conform, be in agreement, or be consistent or compatible (with); tally (with)
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(usually foll by to) to be similar or analogous in character or function
-
(usually foll by with) to communicate by letter
Synonym Usage
Correspond, agree, accord imply comparing persons or things and finding that they harmonize. Correspond suggests having an obvious similarity, though not agreeing in every detail: Part of this report corresponds with the facts. Agree implies having or arriving at a condition in which no essential difference of opinion or detail is evident: All the reports agree. Accord emphasizes agreeing exactly, both in fact and in point of view: This report accords with the other.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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correspondsimple
-
correspondssimple
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have correspondedperfect
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has correspondedperfect
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am correspondingprogressive
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are correspondingprogressive
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is correspondingprogressive
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have been correspondingperfect progressive
-
has been correspondingperfect progressive
Past
-
correspondedsimple
-
had correspondedperfect
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was correspondingprogressive
-
were correspondingprogressive
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had been correspondingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of correspond
First recorded in 1520–30; from Middle French, from Medieval Latin corrēspondēre; equivalent to cor- + respond
Explanation
When two things correspond, they match up or are equivalent to one another. You might come up with a code in which numbers correspond to letters of the alphabet. Correspond can also mean to send messages back and forth. You can use your code to correspond with your pen pal. The word correspond can mean "communicating back and forth," like using email to correspond with a far-away cousin. It can also mean "be alike," as in having friends whose interests and personalities correspond to your own. Finally, it can be "be equal to," as in getting a score on a standardized test that corresponds with those of students taking the same subjects as you but who live in other states or countries.
Vocabulary lists containing correspond
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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ACT Vocabulary List
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"Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
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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:
He also apologized for befriending Oxford, and he signed off with a request to correspond and perhaps visit someday.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The clothing found with the remains, however, did not correspond to Peglar's rank, creating a mystery that persisted for generations.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
What’s more, the value added by his investment may not exactly correspond to the amount he spends on it.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
“I remember we would correspond over Twitter DMs, and she just seemed very excited to be helpful in any way,” Matthews said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Dynamic levels don't correspond to a measured decibel level.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
"At the LHC, we're colliding particles at extremely high energy, which corresponds to tiny distance scales," Incandela said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
According to the researchers, that corresponds to roughly a 0.5% chance that the unusual event could be produced by known background sources.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
“Institutions run by the Catholic Church now threaten to place an undue burden on parents that would effectively deny them the fundamental right to choose a school that corresponds to their own convictions,” he added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Average worldwide sea temperatures tend to reach their yearly peak in March or April, which corresponds to the end of summer in the southern hemisphere - and not in August.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
The emission or absorption of one particle by another corresponds to the dividing or joining together of strings.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
I corresponded with con artists and attended a strange “medical” appointment that promised me invisible surgery and extraterrestrial matchmaking.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Randolph said the coaches gave Wallace five plays to learn and the hand signals that corresponded to them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
They have corresponded with previous market tops in 2000, 2007 and 2021, according to Leuthold.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Although fructose and glucose produced similar short-term effects on food intake, the mice eventually developed preferences that corresponded to the degree of AgRP neuron inhibition triggered by each sugar.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
They corresponded with botanists throughout the Colonies, sending them bulbs and shoots when illustrations would not do.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
Around June 21, the corresponding effect occurs over South America and South Africa.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
"Wider data suggests there has been a corresponding fall in need for food banks, not just use, external".
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Don’t read too much into the Dodgers’ corresponding move for Ohtani on Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
There are many different types—including Osetra, Kaluga and Beluga—each typically corresponding to different sturgeon species.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
They lie at a point corresponding to the narrow neck of a funnel, into which all the migratory paths composing what is known as the Pacific Flyway converge.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
