# align

Pronunciation: say "uh-LYN" /əˈlaɪn/

## Verb

1. To adjust objects so that they range or come into a straight line.
   - Simple: To move things so they form a straight line.
   - _Carpenters align the boards carefully before nailing them down._
   - _She aligned the picture frames along the hallway wall._
2. To form a line, or to fall into line, with others.
   - Simple: To move into a straight line with others.
   - _The dancers align along the edge of the stage as the music begins._
   - _Soldiers aligned for inspection at dawn._
3. To identify with, match, or support the views, behavior, or goals of another person, organization, or country.
   - Simple: To support or agree with the ideas or actions of a person or group.
   - _Several smaller parties align with the ruling coalition._
   - _The senator aligned with environmental groups on the new bill._
4. To organize or arrange in a consistent, defined way, sometimes in an abstract sense.
   - Simple: To arrange things so they fit together or match well.
   - _Good managers align team goals with the company's broader strategy._
   - _She aligned the project timeline with the budget cycle._
5. To store data so that each item begins at a memory offset that is a multiple of the word size, matching the memory architecture.
   - Simple: To store computer data so each piece starts at a set point in memory.
   - _The compiler aligns each structure member to a four-byte boundary._
   - _Programmers align large arrays to cache-line boundaries for speed._
6. To arrange DNA, RNA, or protein sequences in a line so that their regions of similarity match up.
   - Simple: To line up DNA, RNA, or protein sequences so their matching parts sit together.
   - _Researchers align the homologous sequences before building a phylogenetic tree._
   - _The software aligned thousands of reads against the reference genome._
7. To identify entities in different knowledge bases that refer to the same real-world object.
   - Simple: To match up items in different databases that point to the same real thing.
   - _Data engineers align entities across the two product catalogs before merging them._
   - _The pipeline aligned author records from several bibliographic databases._

## Origin

It comes from Old French alignier (from a- plus lignier), which goes back to Latin lineare, 'to make straight', from linea, 'line'. This traces to linum, meaning 'flax', and likely ultimately to a Proto-Indo-European root.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/align (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).