related
- 1Connected or associated with something else, often written after a noun to name what it is connected with, as in 'work-related stress'.
The committee grouped the proposals that were most directly related.
Higher rents and longer commutes are problems often related to one another.
UsageUsually related to something, often closely related; after a noun it is hyphenated: work-related. Set phrase: on a related note.
Note
In business writing, related businesses are companies connected to one another, as in arrangements that license assets and shift profits between them.
- 2Connected to someone by blood, marriage, or shared ancestry, and so belonging to the same family.
The two families discovered they were related several generations back.
Although they share a surname, the two authors are not related.
UsageSay related to someone, or we are related; distantly and closely say how near.
Similarkin
Oppositeunrelated
- 3Simple past and past participle of relate.
The witness related what she had seen to the police.
Researchers related the rise in sales to the new advertising campaign.
Note
One spelling does several jobs. As the past of the verb it can mean told (she related the story) or connected (they related sales to advertising). After be, the passive is easy to confuse with the adjective meaning "connected". If someone did the telling or connecting (was related by a witness), it is the verb. If it describes a standing link (closely related, related by marriage), it is the adjective.
Less common meanings
- 4In music, designating keys or chords that are closely connected, especially keys that share all or most of their notes and differ by at most one sharp or flat.
The piece modulates briefly into a related key before returning home.
Students learn that G major and D minor are both closely related to C major.
Note
Keys count as related when they share most of their notes, which is why a piece can move between them smoothly. The closest pair, a major key and the minor key with the same signature, has its own names: relative major and relative minor. Closely related keys usually means the wider set that differs from the home key by at most one sharp or flat.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Related keys share many notes, allowing smooth movement between them. s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com
- A major key and the minor key sharing its signature are relative major and relative minor, and are the most closely related keys. en.wikipedia.org
- Closely related keys have key signatures differing from the home key by at most one sharp or flat. viva.pressbooks.pub
- 5In mathematics, connected to another element through a given relation.
Under this rule, two whole numbers are related if their difference is an even number.
Under this ordering, smaller numbers are related to larger ones.
Note
A mathematician's sense, always tied to a stated relation R: a is related to b exactly when the ordered pair (a, b) belongs to R. Because the pair is ordered, a may be related to b without b being related to a. The loose everyday feeling of association drops away. Being related becomes a precise fact fixed entirely by how the relation is defined.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Being related under a specified binary relation R means that the ordered pair belongs to R; the relation therefore determines whether the statement holds. en.wikipedia.org
- A relation can hold from a to b without holding from b to a. math.libretexts.org
Showing meanings only.
related is a form of relate
relate, verb: To feel a connection with someone or something because you understand or share their experience. Full entry
- Spelling
- relate → related: add -d
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /ɪd/, an extra syllable.
Practice
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