verb (used with object)
1.
to give or allocate; allot: to assign rooms at a hotel.
2.
to give out or announce as a task: to assign homework.
3.
to appoint, as to a post or duty: to assign one to guard duty.
4.
to designate; name; specify: to assign a day for a meeting.
5.
to ascribe; attribute; bring forward: to assign a cause.
verb (used without object)
8.
Law. to transfer property, especially in trust or for the benefit of creditors.
00:10
Assign
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
noun
9.
Usually, assigns. Law. a person to whom the property or interest of another is or may be transferred; assignee: my heirs and assigns.
Related forms
saɪˈnɔr mis·as·sign, verb
non·as·signed, adjective
pre·as·sign, verb (used with object)
pre·as·signed, adjective
re·as·sign, verb (used with object)
self-as·signed, adjective
un·as·signed, adjective
well-as·signed, adjective
Synonyms
1. 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. 4. fix, determine. 5. adduce, allege, advance, show, offer.
1. 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. 4. fix, determine. 5. adduce, allege, advance, show, offer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To assign
Collins
World English Dictionary
assign (əˈsaɪn) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to select for and appoint to a post, etc: to assign an expert to the job |
| 2. | to give out or allot (a task, problem, etc): to assign advertising to an expert |
| 3. | to set apart (a place, person, time, etc) for a particular function or event: to assign a day for the meeting |
| 4. | to attribute to a specified cause, origin, or source; ascribe: to assign a stone cross to the Vikings |
| 5. | to transfer (one's right, interest, or title to property) to someone else |
| 6. | (also intr) law (formerly) to transfer (property) to trustees so that it may be used for the benefit of creditors |
| 7. | military Compare attach to allocate (men or materials) on a permanent basis |
| 8. | computing to place (a value corresponding to a variable) in a memory location |
| —n | |
| 9. | law a person to whom property is assigned; assignee |
| [C14: from Old French assigner, from Latin assignāre, from signāre to mark out] | |
| as'signable | |
| —adj | |
| assigna'bility | |
| —n | |
| as'signably | |
| —adv | |
| as'signer | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
assign
c.1300, from O.Fr. assigner (13c.), from L. assignare "to mark out, to allot by sign," from ad- "to" + signare "make a sign," from signum "mark" (see sign). Main original use was in Eng. law, in transferences of personal property. General meaning "to fix, settle, determine, appoint" is from c.1300.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
