assign

[ uh-sahyn ]
See synonyms for: assignassignedassigning on Thesaurus.com

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.

  1. to appoint, as to a post or duty: to assign one to guard duty.

  2. to designate; name; specify: to assign a day for a meeting.

  3. to ascribe; attribute; bring forward: to assign a cause.

  4. Law. to transfer: to assign a contract.

  5. Military. to place permanently on duty with a unit or under a commander.

verb (used without object)
  1. Law. to transfer property, especially in trust or for the benefit of creditors.

noun
  1. Usually assigns. Law. a person to whom the property or interest of another is or may be transferred; assignee: my heirs and assigns.

Origin of assign

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English assignen, from Old French assigner, from Latin assignāre; equivalent to as- + sign

synonym study For assign

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.

Other words for assign

Other words from assign

  • as·sign·er; Chiefly Law. as·sign·or [uh-sahy-nawr, as-uh-nawr], /ə saɪˈnɔr, ˌæs əˈnɔr/, noun
  • 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

Words Nearby assign

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use assign in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for assign

assign

/ (əˈsaɪn) /


verb(mainly tr)
  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

  1. to set apart (a place, person, time, etc) for a particular function or event: to assign a day for the meeting

  2. to attribute to a specified cause, origin, or source; ascribe: to assign a stone cross to the Vikings

  3. to transfer (one's right, interest, or title to property) to someone else

  4. (also intr) law (formerly) to transfer (property) to trustees so that it may be used for the benefit of creditors

  5. military to allocate (men or materials) on a permanent basis: Compare attach (def. 6)

  6. computing to place (a value corresponding to a variable) in a memory location

noun
  1. law a person to whom property is assigned; assignee

Origin of assign

1
C14: from Old French assigner, from Latin assignāre, from signāre to mark out

Derived forms of assign

  • assignable, adjective
  • assignability, noun
  • assignably, adverb
  • assigner, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012