assign
Americanverb (used with object)
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to give or allocate; allot.
to assign rooms at a hotel.
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to give out or announce as a task.
to assign homework.
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to appoint, as to a post or duty.
to assign one to guard duty.
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to designate; name; specify.
to assign a day for a meeting.
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to ascribe; attribute; bring forward.
to assign a cause.
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Law. to transfer.
to assign a contract.
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Military. to place permanently on duty with a unit or under a commander.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
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to select for and appoint to a post, etc
to assign an expert to the job
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to give out or allot (a task, problem, etc)
to assign advertising to an expert
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to set apart (a place, person, time, etc) for a particular function or event
to assign a day for the meeting
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to attribute to a specified cause, origin, or source; ascribe
to assign a stone cross to the Vikings
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to transfer (one's right, interest, or title to property) to someone else
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(also intr) law (formerly) to transfer (property) to trustees so that it may be used for the benefit of creditors
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military to allocate (men or materials) on a permanent basis Compare attach
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computing to place (a value corresponding to a variable) in a memory location
noun
Related Words
Assign, allocate, allot mean to apportion or measure out. To assign is to distribute available things, designating them to be given to or reserved for specific persons or purposes: to assign duties. To allocate is to earmark or set aside parts of things available or expected in the future, each for a specific purpose: to allocate income to various types of expenses. To allot implies making restrictions as to amount, size, purpose, etc., and then apportioning or assigning: to allot spaces for parking.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of assign
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English assignen, from Old French assigner, from Latin assignāre; equivalent to as- + sign
Explanation
To assign is to specify something or someone for a specific purpose. If your sisters fight over whose turn it is to sit in the front seat, your parents may have to assign turns. The verb assign also means to transfer legal rights. You assign the deed to your house to new owners when you sell it. If you sort things into categories by characteristics, you are assigning them categories. When you make a budget, you assign each expense a category. Food and housing, for example, may be essential living expenses and medicine and doctor's visits may be health care. Chocolate gets its own category.
Vocabulary lists containing assign
Beowulf vocabulary
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Code Talker
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The Circuit
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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.
Without a patient’s full history, it’s impossible to assign the event to Foundayo, Shin said, pointing out that the pill had been “put through the clinical trial ringer” prior to its launch.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
She said monitoring their use of Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, which are used for food stamps or unemployment, could be a way to assign a rating.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
In 2022, it released a “Player for Education” embedding tool that allows teachers to assign videos stripped of ads and recommendations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
When the units are small and the problem well defined, it may be possible to assign reasonably large numbers to different groups.
From Slate • Apr. 28, 2026
The minders assign all of us special jobs for the Red Cross visit.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
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.
