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

Previous studies identified specific genes related to a longer life span. —Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 21 Dec. 2025

The warrant authorized investigators to obtain records from Meta Platforms related to two Facebook accounts as part of an investigation into whether city resources were improperly used for political purposes. —Adrienne Davis, jsonline.com, 20 Dec. 2025

However, despite various leads throughout the years and the FBI releasing age-progressing photos of Bradley in 2017, she has never been found and authorities have yet to charge anyone with a crime relating to the case. —Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 20 Dec. 2025

He had been caught up in a long-running white collar corruption probe related to TV rights deals involving FIFA and other leagues and sports. —Hernan Lopez, Variety, 20 Dec. 2025

Rhymes for relate to

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