partner
Americannoun
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a person who shares or is associated with another in some action or endeavor; sharer; associate.
- Synonyms:
- accomplice, accessory, colleague
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Law.
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a person associated with another or others as a principal or a contributor of capital in a business or a joint venture, usually sharing its risks and profits.
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a spouse; a husband or a wife.
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the person with whom one cohabits in a romantic relationship.
I'd like you to meet my partner, Sarah.
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either of two people who dance together.
my favorite partner in the waltz.
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a player on the same side or team as another.
My tennis partner was an excellent player.
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Nautical. partners, a framework of timber round a hole in a ship's deck, to support a mast, capstan, pump, etc.
verb (used with object)
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to associate as a partner or partners with.
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to serve as the partner of.
noun
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an ally or companion
a partner in crime
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a member of a partnership
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one of a pair of dancers or players on the same side in a game
my bridge partner
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either member of a couple in a relationship
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of partner
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English partener, alteration of parcener by association with part
Explanation
If you open a lemonade stand with your brother, then your brother is your business partner. Partner means "to pair up." At a square dance, the call "partner up!" means it's time to find someone to dance with. In business, there are often multiple partners — each one owns a share of the business, and has a share of the risk. Some people call their spouse or the person they're in a long-term relationship with their partner — it has more egalitarian senses than "husband" or "wife," and signals commitment even if you're not married.
Vocabulary lists containing partner
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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Relationships
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Chapter 20: The Industrial Age
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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.
“Fifty thousand people were told to leave their homes,” Caleb Marker, partner at Zimmerman Reed, who filed one of the class-action suits, said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
“With that, has anyone approached Taylor Swift about being a minority partner in the Chiefs?”
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
Cohn, who is a managing partner at Elliott, will join the board on June 1, the chip-design software company said Wednesday.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
NUH had also failed to contact Ian's partner of 25 years, Elaine Newton, in relation to the breaches, the inquiry heard.
From BBC • May 27, 2026
Along with a partner, he’d escaped from Devil’s Island, but he’d failed to make it to South America.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
