partner
Americannoun
-
a person who shares or is associated with another in some action or endeavor; sharer; associate.
- Synonyms:
- accomplice, accessory, colleague
-
Law.
-
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.
-
-
a spouse; a husband or a wife.
-
the person with whom one cohabits in a romantic relationship.
I'd like you to meet my partner, Sarah.
-
either of two people who dance together.
my favorite partner in the waltz.
-
a player on the same side or team as another.
My tennis partner was an excellent player.
-
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)
-
to associate as a partner or partners with.
-
to serve as the partner of.
noun
-
an ally or companion
a partner in crime
-
a member of a partnership
-
one of a pair of dancers or players on the same side in a game
my bridge partner
-
either member of a couple in a relationship
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
partnersimple
-
partnerssimple
-
have partneredperfect
-
has partneredperfect
-
am partneringprogressive
-
are partneringprogressive
-
is partneringprogressive
-
have been partneringperfect progressive
-
has been partneringperfect progressive
Past
-
partneredsimple
-
had partneredperfect
-
was partneringprogressive
-
were partneringprogressive
-
had been partneringperfect progressive
Future
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Relationships
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Chapter 20: The Industrial Age
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
“Unfortunately, our investigation has identified several individuals who apparently abused their position of trust for personal gain,” says Peter Luccarelli, a managing partner at Brightpoint.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
MoffettNathanson analysts said that each of the three major wireless companies have to trust that their rivals won’t agree to let Starlink partner with them as a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
"Crews, specialist wildfire resources and partner agencies continue to monitor conditions closely and work to prevent further spread."
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
"The key objective is to deliver capabilities quickly," Pascal Fabre, a partner at advisory firm AlixPartners, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Reluctantly, the younger man holstered his weapon and followed his partner out of the room.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
This year, the firm shrank the number of U.S. audit partners by 10% and is completely rethinking the role of junior-level auditors—college graduates who generally start with a salary around $80,000.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The investigation into overcapacity concerns was announced in March and is targeting 16 economies, including major trading partners like the E.U.,
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
This time, probes into 60 economies including major partners like the EU and India spanned just four months.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Trump used the same law yesterday to put levies on trading partners over forced-labor concerns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Lippmann had rented a private room in some restaurant and invited Eisman and his partners to what they assumed was something other than a free meal.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
The Asian Tour partnered with LIV in 2021 prior to the launch of the breakaway league the following year.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Some entertainment companies including Disney and Universal have sued AI companies alleging copyright infringement, whereas other companies such as “Hunger Games” studio Lionsgate have partnered with AI startup Runway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Never married, publicly partnered or linked romantically with a woman, the senator consistently denied he was gay in the face of barbs, jokes and speculation.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
The lawsuit marks a dramatic escalation in tensions between two companies that partnered in 2024 to integrate ChatGPT into Apple's products.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
We’ve been friends since forever, but super best friends since third grade, when we got partnered for a group project.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
The partnering company would lose too, Zhu noted — just perhaps not quite as much.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
Boeing hopes to win over the European market by partnering with local defence companies.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Jake Collective, a nonprofit foundation founded in Schreiber’s honor, is partnering with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention on a five-year, $5 million research initiative devoted the mental health needs of neurodivergent children and adolescents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Broadcom is partnering with Blackstone and Apollo Global Management to launch a $35 billion platform to finance AI infrastructure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Who, by the way, clearly doesn't want to be partnering up with me, either.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
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.
