assign

assign [uh-sahyn] SynonymsExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for assign on Thesaurus.com verb (used with object)

1. to give or allocate; allot: to assign rooms at a hotel.
2. to give out or announce as a task: to assign homework.
3. to appoint, as to a post or duty: to assign one to guard duty.
4. to designate; name; specify: to assign a day for a meeting.
5. to ascribe; attribute; bring forward: to assign a cause.
6. Law. to transfer: to assign a contract.
7. Military. to place permanently on duty with a unit or under a commander.

verb (used without object)

8. Law. to transfer property, especially in trust or for the benefit of creditors.

noun

9. Usually assigns. Law. a person to whom the property or interest of another is or may be transferred; assignee: my heirs and assigns.

Origin of assign 1250–1300; Middle English assignen Old French assigner Latin assignāre. See as-, sign Related formsas·sign·er; Chiefly Law. as·sign·or [uh-sahy-nawr, as-uh-nawr] /ə saɪˈnɔr, ˌæs əˈnɔr/, nounmis·as·sign, verbnon·as·signed, adjectivepre·as·sign, verb (used with object)pre·as·signed, adjectivere·as·sign, verb (used with object)self-as·signed, adjectiveun·as·signed, adjectivewell-as·signed, adjectiveSynonyms for assign See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com 4. fix, determine. 5. adduce, allege, advance, show, offer.Synonym study 1. Assign, allocate, allot mean to apportion or measure out. To assign is to distribute available things, designating them to be given to or reserved for specific persons or purposes: to assign duties. To allocate is to earmark or set aside parts of things available or expected in the future, each for a specific purpose: to allocate income to various types of expenses. To allot implies making restrictions as to amount, size, purpose, etc., and then apportioning or assigning: to allot spaces for parking. Related Words for assign appoint, authorize, hire, elect, name, nominate, empower, attach, charge, draft, allow, accredit, commit, entrust, refer, select, designate, distribute, grant, give Examples from the Web for assign Contemporary Examples of assign

Now the Kremlin will assign more loyal people to rule the region, mostly military leaders.

Recession? Devaluation? Inflation? Putin Tells Russia Stay the Course.

Anna Nemtsova

December 4, 2014

When we assign a primitive “not me” status to another individual or social group, it can—and does—take us down a destructive path.

Ferguson, Immigration, and ‘Us Vs. Them’

Gene Robinson

November 27, 2014

Other folks can debate and assign blame for “who lost Iraq.”

Iran Is the Biggest Loser in Iraq

Aki Peritz

June 15, 2014

Renee Richardson knows she’ll likely never be able to assign blame for her son’s death—she’s done fighting for that.

What Military Base Shootings Reveal About the Mental Health Debate

Caitlin Dickson

February 9, 2014

Girls are directed through several pages of this until they are asked to assign the guy a series of pre-decided adjectives.

Meet Lulu: An App That Lets Girls Rate Guys Anonymously

Isabel Wilkinson

August 22, 2013

Historical Examples of assign

With what cheerfulness will I assign over this envied estate!

Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)

Samuel Richardson

It is perhaps too early to assign him his place in American literature.

The Works of Whittier, Volume VI (of VII)

John Greenleaf Whittier

And if it be impossible to assign any, this will serve to confirm our suspicion.

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

David Hume

I have met with the word in French authors, but never could assign any idea to it.

Joseph Andrews, Vol. 2

Henry Fielding

Between thirty and fifty years, it was impossible to assign an age to him.

Ramuntcho

Pierre Loti

British Dictionary definitions for assign assign verb (mainly tr)

1. to select for and appoint to a post, etcto assign an expert to the job
2. to give out or allot (a task, problem, etc)to assign advertising to an expert
3. to set apart (a place, person, time, etc) for a particular function or eventto assign a day for the meeting
4. to attribute to a specified cause, origin, or source; ascribeto assign a stone cross to the Vikings
5. to transfer (one’s right, interest, or title to property) to someone else
6. (also intr) law (formerly) to transfer (property) to trustees so that it may be used for the benefit of creditors
7. military to allocate (men or materials) on a permanent basisCompare attach (def. 6)
8. computing to place (a value corresponding to a variable) in a memory location

noun

9. law a person to whom property is assigned; assignee

Derived Formsassignable, adjectiveassignability, nounassignably, adverbassigner, nounWord Origin for assign C14: from Old French assigner, from Latin assignāre, from signāre to mark out Word Origin and History for assign v.

c.1300, from Old French assiginer (13c.) “assign, set (a date, etc.); appoint legally; allot,” from Latin assignare “to mark out, to allot by sign, assign, award,” from ad- “to” (see ad-) + signare “make a sign,” from signum “mark” (see sign). Main original use was in English law, in transferences of personal property. General meaning “to fix, settle, determine, appoint” is from c.1300. Related: Assigned; assigning.