relate to

phrasal 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

This created challenges related to data security, permissions and our teammates’ understanding of policy restrictions. —Rob Green, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025

This isn’t a puzzle movie — there’s no fun to be had in drawing a timeline or mapping out how the characters all relate to each other on a flat surface. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Aug. 2025

On Reddit, posts related to the Nike Cortez get tons of daily upvotes and comments, sparking lively discussions about the best colors to shop today, how to get your hands on rare drops, and beyond. —Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 6 Aug. 2025

Abdominal symptoms can also be due to many different causes, some of which could be related to infectious organisms but many that are not. —Faye Chiu, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2025

Rhymes for relate to

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