relate

American  

[ri-leyt] / rɪˈleɪt /

verb (used with object)

related, relating

1. to tell; give an account of (an event, circumstance, etc.).

   Synonyms:

   repeat, detail, delineate, narrate

2. to bring into or establish association, connection, or relation.

   to relate events to probable causes.

   Synonyms:

   ally

   Antonyms:

   dissociate

---

verb (used without object)

related, relating

1. to have reference (often followed byto ).

2. to have some relation (often followed byto ).

3. to establish a social or sympathetic relationship with a person or thing.

   two sisters unable to relate to each other.

relate British  

/ rɪˈleɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to tell or narrate (a story, information, etc)

2. (often foll by to) to establish association (between two or more things) or (of something) to have relation or reference (to something else)

3. to form a sympathetic or significant relationship (with other people, things, etc)

---

Related Words

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

• misrelate
  verb
• prerelate
  verb (used with object)
• relatable
  adjective
• relater
  noun
• unrelating
  adjective

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.

Example Sentences

Starbucks has not publicly detailed the performance metrics yet, only saying they relate to “sales, operational and customer-service metrics.”

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

This will help it build what its makers call a “social graph”: how people in a household relate to one another, and what their relationship is to the Familiar itself.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

It is unclear exactly who is carrying out what work, although Chemring stated to BBC Scotland News the work does not relate to land it owns.

From BBC • May 3, 2026

There are interesting things about country music — a matter-of-factness that I can relate to as a songwriter, even though I’m not country and I’m not gonna go country.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

In the fall of 1953 I wanted to write stories with secret meanings that would relate to people like me, no matter their color or position in life.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

Related Words

• affect
• apply
• ascribe
• assign
• associate
• compare
• concern
• connect
• link
• pertain
• refer