associate
verbUK /əˈsəʊʃieɪt/ · US /əˈsoʊʃieɪt/
Etymology From Middle English associat(e) (“associated, allied”) (the verb *associaten is not found in Middle English writings and only attested at a later period), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Doublet of associe.
8 senses
1
To join in or form a league, union, or association.
2
To spend time socially; keep company.
- She associates with her coworkers on weekends.
- Before the race he associated only with other skiers.
1 more example
- As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish,[…]. My servant is, so far as I am concerned, welcome to as many votes as he can get.[…]I do not suppose that it matters much in reality whether laws are made by dukes or cornerboys, but I like, as far as possible, to associate with gentlemen in private life.1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC:
3
With with To join as a partner, ally, or friend.
- He associated his name with many environmental causes.
4
To connect or join together; combine.
- particles of gold associated with other substances
5
To connect evidentially, or in the mind or imagination.
- I always somehow associate Chatterton with autumn.1819 September 21, John Keats, letter to John Hamilton Reynolds
- He succeeded in associating his name inseparably with some names which will last as long as our language.1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James II:
3 more examples
- A branch of rail transport that seems to been rather neglected by historians is that concerned with cliff railways, of which a fair number exist in Great Britain. This is probably because these lines are overshadowed by the more spectacular funicular railways in Switzerland and other mountainous regions; perhaps, too, because of the general habit of referring to them as "cliff lifts," which tends to associate them with the vertical indoor type.1951 August, P. W. Gentry, “Cliff Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 514:
- The economics of rebuilding all the stations covered by the electrification would be prohibitive, but to help bring home to the Glasgow public that their North Clyde suburban service has been transformed, not merely re-equipped with new trains, stations have at least been associated psychologically with the rolling stock by a common colour scheme.1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, in Trains Illustrated, page 714:
- Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident.2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in American Scientist:
6
In deliberative bodies To endorse.
- She refused to associate herself with the petition.
- Mr. President, I rise to associate myself with the remarks of my senior Senator from Louisiana who has led this fight successfully for many years1999 August 4-5, Congress, “Pt. 14”, in Congressional Record, volume 145, page 19343:
7
Mathematics, Sciences To be associative.
8
Obsolete To accompany; to be in the company of.
- Friends should associate friends in grief and woec. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
- Antonyms
- disassociate
- Derived terms
- adeno-associated, associahedron, associator, interassociate, misassociate, photoassociate, preassociate, reassociate, sea star-associated densovirus, unassociate, vanadium-associated protein
- Related terms
- association, associative