relate to

verb

related to; relating to; relates to

1

: to connect (something) with (something else)

Few of the people who became sick related their symptoms to the food they'd eaten the day before.

2

: to understand and like or have sympathy for (someone or something)

I can relate to your feelings.

I've never been able to relate to him very well.

He writes songs that people can really relate to.

3

—used to describe how someone talks to or behaves toward (someone else)

How a child relates to her teacher can affect her education.

4

: to be connected with (someone or something) : to be about (someone or something)

The readings relate to the class discussions.

—often used as (be) related to

The exam questions are directly related to the readings.

Examples of relate to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Cacioppo and his company were previously at the center of a federal criminal probe related to contracts. — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 24 July 2026

Queens Ballpark Company had revenue of $149 million for the first six months of the year, according to a disclosure required by the financing agreement related to building Citi Field. — Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 23 July 2026

Dozens of police officers, many of them recent recruits, were eventually disciplined for actions related to police corruption, and many were convicted of crimes related to stealing drugs from traffickers. — Meg Anderson, NPR, 23 July 2026

If this pace continues, the number of cases will pass California’s high from 2015, when there were 125 cases in the state and a portion of them were related to a large outbreak at Disneyland. — Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026

Rhymes for relate to

• hullabaloo
• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup