partner

[pahrt-ner]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR partner ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who shares or is associated with another in some action or endeavor; sharer; associate.

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.
special partner.

silent partner.

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.

partners, Nautical. 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.

Origin of partner

1250–1300; Middle English partener, alteration of parcener by association with part

Related formspart·ner·less, adjectivenon·part·ner, nounun·der·part·ner, noun

Synonyms for partner

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR partner ON THESAURUS.COM

1. colleague, accessory, accomplice.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for partners

colleague, spouse, participant, associate, wife, companion, friend, ally, husband, crony, cohort, comrade, chum, teammate, buddy, helper, consort, assistant, sidekick, date

Examples from the Web for partners

Contemporary Examples of partners

What if there were a legal dispute between the foreign investor and his or her Egyptian partners or collaborators?
Amal Clooney vs. Egypt’s Courts
Christopher Dickey
January 4, 2015
I know that many people do not feel they possess their partners and lovers.
Owning Up to Possession’s Downside
Samantha Harvey
December 14, 2014
Back then, when partners of stars melted into the background, it was a barnstorming stealing of the show.
Happy 20th Birthday, Liz Hurley’s Safety-Pin Dress
Tim Teeman
December 12, 2014
YouTube has signed up over a million partners (people who agree to run ads over their videos to make money from their content).
How Much Money Does a Band Really Make on Tour?
Jack Conte
December 8, 2014
Women also reported initiating sex more frequently with partners who had a sense of humor.
Was 2014 the Year Science Discovered The Female Orgasm?
Samantha Allen
December 6, 2014

Historical Examples of partners

Well, as I was saying, the camping company consists of two partners.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
The young Arab spoke to the boards as though they were partners in his iniquity.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
One condition of friendship is that the partners in it should be known to each other.
Green Mansions
W. H. Hudson
His own partners would be torn from him, and turned out upon the world.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 2, April 9, 1870
Various
It was certainly true that she had seen changes of partners.
The Incomplete Amorist
E. Nesbit

British Dictionary definitions for partners

partners

pl n

nautical a wooden construction around an opening in a deck, as to support a mast

partner

noun

an ally or companiona partner in crime

a member of a partnership

one of a pair of dancers or players on the same side in a gamemy bridge partner

either member of a couple in a relationship

verb

to be or cause to be a partner (of)

Derived Formspartnerless, adjective

Word Origin for partner

C14: variant (influenced by part) of parcener

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for partners

partner

1610s, transitive, "to make a partner," from partner (n.). Intransitive sense from 1961. Related: Partnered; partnering.

partner

c.1300, altered from parcener (late 13c.), from Old French parçonier "partner, associate; joint owner, joint heir," from parçon "partition, division. portion, share, lot," from Latin partitionem (nominative partitio) "a sharing, partition, division, distribution" (see partition (n.)). Form in English influenced by part (n.). The word also may represent Old French part tenour "part holder."