relate
Americanverb (used with object)
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relates,
present (3rd person singular)
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related,
past participle, past
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relating
present participle
verb (used without object)
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relates,
present (3rd person singular)
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related,
past participle, past
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relating
present participle
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to have reference (often followed byto ).
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to have some relation (often followed byto ).
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to establish a social or sympathetic relationship with a person or thing.
two sisters unable to relate to each other.
verb
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(tr) to tell or narrate (a story, information, etc)
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(often foll by to) to establish association (between two or more things) or (of something) to have relation or reference (to something else)
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to form a sympathetic or significant relationship (with other people, things, etc)
Synonym Usage
Relate, recite, recount, rehearse mean to tell, report, or describe in some detail an occurrence or circumstance. To relate is to give an account of happenings, events, circumstances, etc.: to relate one's adventures. To recite may mean to give details consecutively, but more often applies to the repetition from memory of something learned with verbal exactness: to recite a poem. To recount is usually to set forth consecutively the details of an occurrence, argument, experience, etc., to give an account in detail: to recount an unpleasant experience. Rehearse implies some formality and exactness in telling, sometimes with repeated performance as for practice before final delivery: to rehearse one's side of a story.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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relaternoun
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misrelateverb
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prerelateverb (used with object)
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relatableadjective
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unrelatingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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relatesimple
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relatessimple
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have relatedperfect
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has relatedperfect
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am relatingprogressive
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are relatingprogressive
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is relatingprogressive
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have been relatingperfect progressive
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has been relatingperfect progressive
Past
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relatedsimple
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had relatedperfect
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was relatingprogressive
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were relatingprogressive
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had been relatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of relate
First recorded in 1480–90; from Latin relātus, past participle of referre “to carry back” ( see refer)
Explanation
The verb relate means "to make a connection." If you can relate to someone's story, something like that has happened to you. Relate also means "to give an account of something verbally," like relating details of your trip to Sweden. That meaning of relate comes from the Latin word relatus, meaning "to recount, tell." If you talk about the federal budget crisis, people might not be interested until you relate it, meaning "explain the relationship between," to the possible job cuts at your local schools and police departments.
Vocabulary lists containing relate
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Stamp Act (1765)
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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:
Tarryn Lambert, who started her current job at a tech company in January, can relate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
The company said the commitments primarily relate to “technical infrastructure and inventory” and “agreements to secure energy for data center usage.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
This study is among the first to investigate how specific cardiovascular health factors may relate to cognitive aging across different ethnic groups.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
This can be a more rational choice - fans might relate to the club's story, their culture and values, or simply like their kit.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
That was wild, but somehow I could relate to the fish.
From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds
The watchdog said a Fiosrú investigation relates to incidents involving contact with gardaí where a member of the public has died or been seriously injured.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
UK media have reported it relates to non-declared financial support from longtime Farage ally and convicted fraudster George Cottrell and his mother.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
A few weeks before Robert arrived in Baku, Mr. Brunt relates, the czar had “set more than 3,000 acres of prime oil lands for auction to private speculators.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
“We can ship higher-quality products much, much more quickly, and that’s because of all the innovation that we’ve been pushing on as it relates to AI,” Owen Jennings, the company’s business lead, told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
“I don’t have to. It relates to jet fuel.”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
"The reasons for this conservation are not well understood. It's one of the mysteries of the universe, related to why we have more matter than antimatter," she said.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Issues related to food, hot water and other concerns raised months ago were addressed by leadership and resolved.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
After visiting the vessel on Saturday, Adm Brad Cooper said it had "among the lowest number of cases related to mental health" out of 11 active US aircraft carriers.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Through May, prosecutors had charged fewer than four dozen people with crimes related to noncitizen voting, ProPublica’s analysis of DOJ data and federal court filings shows, getting convictions or guilty pleas in 14 cases.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
In 1836, near the end of Jackson’s second term, Congress adopted a gag rule that banned any discussion of petitions or legislation related to slavery.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Some evidence accepted by the judge -- relating to Facebook messages, cell towers and posts of death cap mushroom sightings -- was not relevant or unfairly prejudicial to her case, her lawyer said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
TikTok said its platform saw an average of 6.5 million posts relating to film and TV per day last year.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
The incoming leader has not made any statements specifically relating to the group in Putumayo, however.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
The idea was that the board would be the forum where Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and other Middle East countries discuss political reforms, reconstruction, and other issues relating to long-term peace in Gaza.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
He chanced to discover some intelligence relating to Denmark’s enemy, King Fortinbras of Norway.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
