# partner

Pronunciation: US say "PART-nur" /ˈpɑɹtnɚ/; UK say "PART-nuh" /ˈpɑːtnə(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. A person linked to someone else by an activity they do together or an interest they have in common.
   - Simple: A person who works or does something together with you.
   - _He was her partner in every adventure they undertook._
   - _The two scientists were close partners in the research for many years._
2. A husband or wife, or a person with whom one has a romantic or sexual relationship, often while living together.
   - Simple: A husband or wife, or a person you have a romantic or sexual relationship with, often someone you live with.
   - _He and his partner have lived together for more than a decade._
   - _She brought her partner to the company holiday party._
3. A member of a business or law firm partnership who shares in its ownership and profits.
   - Simple: A person who owns part of a business or law firm together with others.
   - _After ten years at the firm, he was finally made a partner._
   - _The senior partners voted to expand into two new markets._
5. A person who takes part with one in a game, sport, or dance done in pairs or teams, such as a teammate at cards or in doubles tennis, or someone one dances with.
   - Simple: The person you play with on your side in a game, or the person you dance with.
   - _In doubles, a good partner covers the part of the court you leave open._
   - _He blamed his partner for the careless bid that cost them the hand._
7. Either member of a matched pair, whether people or objects.
   - Simple: One of two people or things that go together as a pair.
   - _Each sock had somehow lost its partner in the wash._
   - _The vase stood alone, its partner having shattered years earlier._

## Verb

4. To work or perform together with someone as a partner.
   - Simple: To work together with someone as a team.
   - _Researchers partner across institutions to share data and equipment._
   - _He partnered with a nonprofit to deliver meals to the elderly._
6. To join someone with another person as a partner.
   - Simple: To put two people or groups together so they act as partners.
   - _Organizers partner each newcomer with a seasoned guide._
   - _The program partners volunteers with elderly residents who need help._

## Other meanings

- (noun) An arrangement among a group of people under which every member puts in a fixed sum of money for an agreed length of time.
- (noun) One of the wooden pieces forming the framework that strengthens a wooden ship's deck around the holes through which the mast and other fittings pass.

## Origin

Latin partītiō ("portion") is the ultimate source. It led to Old French parçon ("partition") and then parçonier ("joint heir"), which gave Middle English parcener. Under the influence of part, parcener was altered to partener. The word may also stand for Old French part tenour ("part holder"). Parcener is a doublet.

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