associate

Sayuh-SOH-shee-ayt/əˈsoʊʃieɪt/UK/əˈsəʊʃieɪt/

As a noun or adjectiveuh-SOH-shee-uht

Verbassociates, associating, associated

Noun pluralassociates

18 meanings of associate

Practice

1
verbtransitive
To link one thing with another in your mind.
Like tying two ideas together so that one makes you think of the other.
I always associate that song with summer vacations.
She associates the smell of fresh bread with her grandmother's kitchen.
Similarlink, connect, relate, identify, correlate
Oppositedissociate, separate
Note
2
nouncountable
A person you work with at the same job or company.
Like a teammate, except at work instead of in a game.
My associate handled the client meeting while I was away.
She introduced me to several of her business associates.
Similarcolleague, coworker, workmate, peer
3
nouncountable
A partner or worker who joins with others in a business or project.
He became a junior associate at the law firm last year.
The two associates launched their bakery together.
Similarpartner, colleague, collaborator, aide
Note
4
verbintransitive
To spend time with people in a friendly way.
Like hanging out with friends after school.
He prefers to associate with artists and writers.
Growing up, she associated mainly with her cousins.
Similarsocialize, mix, mingle, fraternize, consort
Oppositeavoid, shun
5
adjective
Joined with others but holding a lower rank or position.
She works as an associate editor at the magazine.
He was hired as an associate producer on the film.
Similarjunior, subordinate
Oppositesenior
Note
6
adjective
Having only some of the full rights or membership, not all of them.
She holds an associate membership at the tennis club.
An associate fellow can attend meetings but cannot vote.
Oppositefull
7
nouncountable
A member of a group who has only some rights, not full membership.
As an associate, she could use the library but not vote.
The society admitted several new associates this year.
Similaraffiliate
8
verbtransitive
To join yourself with someone as a partner, friend, or ally.
He chose to associate himself with the new party.
She associated herself with the local artists.
Similarally, align, affiliate, identify, connect
Oppositedissociate, distance
9
verbtransitive
To connect or put two or more things together.
Click this button to associate your email address with your new account.
They associated the two datasets to find patterns.
Similarconnect, join, combine, unite, attach
Oppositeseparate, disconnect, dissociate, detach
Note
10
verbintransitive
To join with other people to form a group, union, or club.
Like several small streams joining together to make one river.
Workers chose to associate and start a new union.
Small farmers associated so they could sell their crops together.
Similarunite, ally, combine, affiliate, federate
Oppositeseparate, disband

11
nouncountable
A person who spends time with you and stands by you, like a friend.
He greeted an old associate from his army days.
He spent the weekend hiking with two longtime associates.
Similarcompanion, comrade, friend, partner
12
adjective
Happening or coming along with something else at the same time.
Like a shadow that comes with you wherever you go.
The treatment eased the pain and its associate symptoms.
Heavy rain and the associate flooding closed several roads.
Similaraccompanying, attendant, concomitant, related
13
verbreflexivetransitive
To publicly back or support a person, idea, or statement.
Like putting your name next to a friend's idea to show you agree.
I associate myself with everything she just said.
The senator associated herself with the new proposal.
Similaralign, identify, ally
Oppositedissociate, distance
Note
14
nouncountable
Something that regularly goes along with another thing.
Like rain that often comes with dark clouds.
Poor sleep is often a close associate of stress.
Fame brought its usual associates: pressure and constant attention.
Similarcompanion, accompaniment, concomitant
15
adjectivedated
Linked to another living thing by habit or shared feeling.
Note
16
nouncountable
In math, one of two values where each one divides evenly into the other.
Like a number and its negative: each divides the other with nothing left over.
In this number system, 3 and -3 are each an associate of the other.
Two terms that are associates always share exactly the same divisors.
Note
17
verbintransitive
In math, to give the same result no matter how the parts are grouped.
Like adding 1, 2, and 3: you get 6 whether you add the first two or the last two first.
Addition and multiplication both associate, so the grouping does not matter.
When operations associate, you can move the brackets around freely.
Note
18
verbobsoletetransitive
To go along with someone and keep them company.
Like walking beside a friend so they are not alone.
Two servants associated the duke on his journey north.
Friends should associate friends in grief and woe
c. 1588, William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”Here, associate means go along with and keep company with a friend.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of associate apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 5–6, 12, 15

From Latin associatus, from a verb meaning "to join or unite," built from ad- plus socius, meaning "shared" or "kindred."

Meanings 2–3, 7, 11, 14, 16

This is the noun use of the adjective above, formed with the noun suffix -ate.

Meanings 1, 4, 8–10, 13, 17–18

This is the verb use, formed with the verb suffix -ate; the verb form only appears later than the Middle English adjective.