assign

verb

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as·sign | \ ə-ˈsīn

assigned; assigning; assigns

Definition of assign

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to transfer (property) to another especially in trust or for the benefit of creditors

2a : to appoint to a post or duty assigned them to light duty assigned me two clerks

b : to appoint as a duty or task assigns 20 pages for homework

3 : to fix or specify in correspondence or relationship : select, designate assign counsel to the defendant assign a value to the variable Though assigned male at birth, she appears most comfortable and in her element wearing a skirt and high-heeled sandals when riding a big-wheel or playing with a tea set.— Will Dean

4a : to ascribe as a motive, reason, or cause especially after deliberation

b : to consider to belong to a specified period of time Archaeologists assign the weapon to the eleventh century.

assign

noun

Definition of assign (Entry 2 of 2)

: assignee sense 3 heirs and assigns

Other Words from assign Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about assign

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Other Words from assign

Verb

assignability \ ə-ˌsī-nə-ˈbi-lə-tē

\ noun

assignable \ ə-ˈsī-nə-bəl

\ adjective

assigner \ ə-ˈsī-nər

\ or assignor \ ˌa-sə-ˈnȯr

, ˌa-ˌsī- , ə-ˌsī- \ noun

Synonyms for assign

Synonyms: Verb

Choose the Right Synonym for assign

Verb

ascribe, attribute, assign, impute, credit mean to lay something to the account of a person or thing. ascribe suggests an inferring or conjecturing of cause, quality, authorship. forged paintings formerly ascribed to masters attribute suggests less tentativeness than ascribe, less definiteness than assign. attributed to Rembrandt but possibly done by an associate assign implies ascribing with certainty or after deliberation. assigned the bones to the Cretaceous period impute suggests ascribing something that brings discredit by way of accusation or blame. tried to impute sinister motives to my actions credit implies ascribing a thing or especially an action to a person or other thing as its agent, source, or explanation. credited his teammates for his success

Examples of assign in a Sentence

Verb The teacher assigned us 50 math problems for homework! She was assigned to the embassy in India. The new teacher was assigned to the science laboratory. The plane landed at its assigned gate.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Homeless Solutions staff will assign case managers to each guest, and their goal is to have everyone in stable housing within three weeks. — Dallas News, "Relocation efforts begin for over 20 homeless residents of Camp Rhonda," 6 Feb. 2021 Under Georgia law, Carr can assign the cases to another prosecutor. — Kate Brumback, Star Tribune, "Prosecutor hands off case against Atlanta officers in death," 28 Jan. 2021 The most organized set — like Lisenby — might assign an individual a moniker, such as #Scallops or #BaldEagle, to keep information in one place. — Sarah Parvini, Los Angeles Times, "On social media, amateur digital sleuths try to help track violent Capitol rioters," 17 Jan. 2021 People who are out of the market and have friends or family in town can assign one of them to the task as their ground team here in New Orleans. — Ian Mcnulty | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, "5 things that will define king cake during a different Mardi Gras, from Saints to shipping," 4 Jan. 2021 To find out, engineers assign a cameraman to monitor the drop-to work within 50 feet of the subject plane, both jets throttling just under the speed of sound. — James Joseph, Popular Mechanics, "Jetography: Photographing Fighter Jets at 40,000 Feet," 31 Dec. 2020 Interval House is using a two-year grant to pay for counselors who currently work with police in East Hartford, Manchester and Hartford, and sometime in January will assign one part-time to West Hartford. — Don Stacom, courant.com, "West Hartford police partner with Interval House to curb domestic violence abuse," 30 Dec. 2020 The Bureau of Elections can assign video tutorials, online courses and reference documents to local election officials to correct procedures, according to the state’s audit manual. — Mikhayla Dunaj, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan is conducting a post-election audit. Here's how that works," 24 Dec. 2020 The scientists then had another neural network analyze visual cues in three million videos from 144 countries to assign a social context to each video, from weddings to weight lifting to witnessing fireworks, ultimately characterizing 653 contexts. — Emily Willingham, Scientific American, "A Smile at a Wedding and a Cheer at a Soccer Game Are Alike the World Over," 17 Dec. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The Mavericks’ G-League Texas Legends opted not to participate in the league’s season that will be played entirely on the Disney World campus bubble, but NBA teams are allowed to transfer or flex-assign players to teams in the bubble. — Dallas News, "Depleted Warriors annihilate Mavericks defense in second half of 147-116 blowout," 5 Feb. 2021 Editors for Timpone’s network assign work to freelancers dotted around the United States and abroad, often paying $3 to $36 per job. — Arkansas Online, "COST OF COVERAGE," 24 Oct. 2020 Editors for Timpone’s network assign work to freelancers dotted around the United States and abroad, often paying $3 to $36 per job. — Arkansas Online, "COST OF COVERAGE," 24 Oct. 2020 Editors for Timpone’s network assign work to freelancers dotted around the United States and abroad, often paying $3 to $36 per job. — Arkansas Online, "COST OF COVERAGE," 24 Oct. 2020 Editors for Timpone’s network assign work to freelancers dotted around the United States and abroad, often paying $3 to $36 per job. — Arkansas Online, "COST OF COVERAGE," 24 Oct. 2020 Editors for Timpone’s network assign work to freelancers dotted around the United States and abroad, often paying $3 to $36 per job. — Arkansas Online, "COST OF COVERAGE," 24 Oct. 2020 Editors for Timpone’s network assign work to freelancers dotted around the United States and abroad, often paying $3 to $36 per job. — Arkansas Online, "COST OF COVERAGE," 24 Oct. 2020 Editors for Timpone’s network assign work to freelancers dotted around the United States and abroad, often paying $3 to $36 per job. — Arkansas Online, "COST OF COVERAGE," 24 Oct. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'assign.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

3 Mar 2021

Cite this Entry

“Assign.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assign. Accessed 8 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for assign

assign

verb

English Language Learners Definition of assign

: to give someone a particular job or duty : to require someone to do a particular task

: to send (someone) to a particular group or place as part of a job

: to give out something : to provide someone with something

See the full definition for assign in the English Language Learners Dictionary

assign

verb

as·sign | \ ə-ˈsīn

assigned; assigning

Kids Definition of assign

1 : to give out as a job or responsibility Our teacher assigned homework in math.

2 : to give out to : provide Each student is assigned a locker.

3 : to give a particular quality, value, or identity to Assign a number to each picture.

assign

transitive verb

as·sign | \ ə-ˈsīn

Legal Definition of assign

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : to transfer (property or rights) to another the general practice by inventors of assigning patent rights— J. K. Owens

2 : to appoint to a post or duty assigned to represent the defendant

3 : to fix or specify in relationship or correspondence a party may assign as error…a failure to give an instruction, if that party properly requested it — Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 51

Other Words from assign

assignability \ ə-ˌsī-nə-ˈbi-lə-tē

\ noun

assignable \ ə-ˈsī-nə-bəl

\ adjective

assignor \ ə-ˈsī-nər

\ noun

assign

noun

Legal Definition of assign (Entry 2 of 2)

: assignee

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