relate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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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)
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” ( refer )
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.
The pending deal drew attention last year after Nexstar blocked the broadcast of comedian Jimmy Kimmel, after remarks related to the death of Charlie Kirk drew backlash, including from the White House.
From BBC
In November 2024, while still mentally unwell, he emailed the embassy of a foreign country information that - according to the judge Mr Justice Hilliard - "related to security or intelligence".
From BBC
As David Ariosto relates in “Open Space,” these satellites are vulnerable to errant space debris.
Regardless of where they fall on the income spectrum, many people can relate to wanting to be included, or badly needing help from someone and bending their standards or ethics to get it.
The shipping company is also benefiting from cost cutting related to the company’s ongoing turnaround plan, the analysts say, as it prepares to spin off its Freight business in June.
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.
