liaise

[ lee-eyz ]

verb (used without object)

, li·aised, li·ais·ing.

1. to form a liaison.

liaise

/ lɪˈeɪz /

verb

1. intrusually foll bywith to communicate and maintain contact (with)

Word History and Origins

Origin of liaise¹

First recorded in 1925–30; back formation from liaison

Word History and Origins

Origin of liaise¹

C20: back formation from liaison

Example Sentences

On Tuesday, the two sat side by side in Reed’s library office, liaising with sources in Kabul past midnight in Afghanistan.

From Washington Post

Gradually he honed his skills, working with informants, establishing probable cause, liaising with federal agencies on wiretap cases and big busts.

From Time

Since local exchanges are not licensed financial operators in Nigeria, they could only accept deposits and facilitate withdrawals by liaising with commercial banks.

From Quartz

Released after two months, he reached London and continued the resistance there as an intelligence agent liaising by radio with guerrillas back in France.

From Washington Post

Where artists have long needed to liaise with streaming brands that weren’t available in the region to have their content pushed elsewhere, “they can just upload on YouTube themselves and their people will watch it,” explains Adesanya.

From Ozy

Related Words

• communicate
• connect
• contact
• network

More About Liaise

What does liaise mean?

To liaise means “to form a liaison,” that is, “to communicate and maintain contact with another person or organization.” In other words, liaising is like acting as the contact person between two groups, such as between parents and teachers.

Contrary to popular complaints, liaise is a perfectly real and fine word. It’s been around since at least the 1920s.

Example: Jen is highly regarded for her ability to liaise with her company’s clients.

Where does liaise come from?

Recorded by the 1920s, liaise is a back formation (more on this below) of the noun liaison, a French noun meaning “connection” and coming from the same Latin root as ligation. The earliest meaning of liaison in English referred to the process of thickening sauces or soups by adding egg yolks, cream, butter, or flour. Liaise is first recorded in military slang.

A back formation is a word formed from an existing word that itself appears to be a derivative of the back-formed word. In the case of liase, it looks like the noun liaison is based on the verb liaise, but it’s actually the other way around. English has many common words you may not know were created by back formation: edit was back-formed from editor and sleaze from sleazy, to name a few.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms of liaise?

• liaised (past tense and participle)
• liaising (present participle)

What are some synonyms for liaise?

• communicate
• connect
• consult
• cooperate
• coordinate

What are some words that share a root or word elements with liaise?

• league
• liable
• ligament
• religion

What are some words that often get used in discussing liaise?

• community
• officer
• networking
• ambassador
• point person

How is liaise used in real life?

LiaiIse is commonly used to describe the work done by the “point of contact” between different organizations, especially different stakeholders in some common effort. This could be between parents and teachers in a school district, a business and the community it serves, or officers from different militaries working on a shared mission.

With a menu template from Easil, you’ll cook up a professional menu in-house.. in less time than it would take you to liaise with a Graphic Designer! #hospitality #designtips https://t.co/zJ96ZsHOmL pic.twitter.com/MdIaR1JGfl

— Easil (@teameasil) September 26, 2019

Congratulations champagne winner @marieomalley2, Senior Drirector @Medtronic. It was really terrific to meet you at #MedTechCon! We were honored to play a part in such a great event and to liaise with a top-notch community of professionals. pic.twitter.com/Mt5r3VkXU3

— Mareana, a 2019 Gartner Cool Vendor (@mareana_digital) September 26, 2019

BREAKING President Trump asked his Ukrainian counterpart to liaise with US prosecutors and Mr Trump’s lawyer to investigate his political rival Joe Biden, according to an official record — but not a verbatim transcript — of a call between the two leaders. https://t.co/bY9n1DEN7v

— James Cook (@BBCJamesCook) September 25, 2019

Try using liaise!

Which of the following is an antonym of liaise?

A. correspond
B. cooperate
C. disassociate
D. network