align

verb

ə-ˈlīn 

variants or less commonly aline

aligned also alined; aligning also alining; aligns also alines

transitive verb

1

: to bring into line or alignment

aligned the books on the shelf

2

: to array on the side of or against a party or cause

He aligned himself with the protesters.

intransitive verb

1

: to get or fall into line

He aligned with his friends against a common enemy.

2

: to be in or come into precise adjustment or correct relative position

Negative ends of molecules align with positive ends of other molecules.

aligner noun

Examples of align in a Sentence

He aligned the two holes so he could put the screw through them.

The two parts of the machine are not properly aligned.

The text aligns with the bottom of the picture.

The schools had to align their programs with state requirements.

She is aligning with other senators to oppose his nomination.

Recent Examples on the Web

Takaichi is a long-time conservative, closely aligned with nationalist and traditionalist causes. —Hanako Montgomery, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026

But then Sundance’s corporate development team really worked hard to realize the power of aligning with official corporate sponsors. —Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 5 Feb. 2026

County officials say the goal is to keep plastic out of the environment and align Placer County with similar ordinances already in place in the Town of Truckee and the City of South Lake Tahoe. —Conor McGill, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026

Investigators later concluded he was not aligned with any particular extremist ideology, but had developed an online fixation on previous school shooters. —Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French aligner, from Old French, from a- (from Latin ad-) + ligne line, from Latin linea

First Known Use

circa 1693, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing align

• align oneself with

Rhymes for align

• affine
• airline
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• byline
• canine
• carbine

Kids Definition

align

verb

variants also aline

ə-ˈlīn 

1

: to bring into or be in line or alignment

2

: to cause to be for or against something (as a belief or political party)

aligned himself with the opposition

aligner noun