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to give or allocate; allot: to assign rooms at a hotel.

to give out or announce as a task: to assign homework.

to appoint, as to a post or duty: to assign one to guard duty.

to designate; name; specify: to assign a day for a meeting.

to ascribe; attribute; bring forward: to assign a cause.

Law . to transfer: to assign a contract.

Military . to place permanently on duty with a unit or under a commander.

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

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

Synonym study for assign, other words for assign, other words from assign.

  • as·sign·er; Chiefly Law . as·sign·or [ uh -sahy- nawr , as- uh - nawr ], /ə saɪˈnɔr, ˌæs əˈnɔr/, noun
  • mis·as·sign, verb
  • non·as·signed, adjective
  • pre·as·sign, verb (used with object)
  • pre·as·signed, adjective
  • re·as·sign, verb (used with object)
  • self-as·signed, adjective
  • un·as·signed, adjective
  • well-as·signed, adjective

Words Nearby assign

  • assiduously
  • assignation
  • assigned counsel
  • assigned risk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use assign in a sentence

It is designed to listen to meetings with multiple participants and will parse discussion patterns to produce informative synopses and assign post-meeting action items.

Such randomized, double-blinded controlled trials randomly assign patients to receive a drug or a placebo, and don’t reveal to participants or doctors who is getting which.

That AI could pore over an astronaut’s symptoms and then recommend medical tests, make diagnoses and assign treatments.

So I rose beyond cleaning, to working as an operational dispatcher for cabin services in the American Airlines traffic control center, assign cleaning crews to each incoming aircraft.

Ideally, the Mars spaceship would be equipped with artificial intelligence that could consider an astronaut’s symptoms, recommend medical tests, make diagnoses and assign treatments.

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

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

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

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

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

The designs of Russia have long been proverbial; but the exercise of the new art of printing may assign them new features.

With what honest pride did John Smith, the best farmer of them all, step to the fore and assign to each man his place!

If the lessee die, his executor or administrator can assign the remainder of his term.

As the lessee may assign or sublet unless forbidden, so may the lessor part with his interest in the leased premises.

If offered any dish of which you do not wish to partake, decline it, but do not assign any reason.

British Dictionary definitions for assign

/ ( əˈsaɪn ) /

to select for and appoint to a post, etc : to assign an expert to the job

to give out or allot (a task, problem, etc) : to assign advertising to an expert

to set apart (a place, person, time, etc) for a particular function or event : to assign a day for the meeting

to attribute to a specified cause, origin, or source; ascribe : to assign a stone cross to the Vikings

to transfer (one's right, interest, or title to property) to someone else

(also intr) law (formerly) to transfer (property) to trustees so that it may be used for the benefit of creditors

military to allocate (men or materials) on a permanent basis : Compare attach (def. 6)

computing to place (a value corresponding to a variable) in a memory location

law a person to whom property is assigned; assignee

Derived forms of assign

  • assignable , adjective
  • assignability , noun
  • assignably , adverb
  • assigner , noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Definition of assign verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

  • assign something (to somebody) The teacher assigned a different task to each of the children.
  • The two large classrooms have been assigned to us.
  • assign somebody something We have been assigned the two large classrooms.
  • The teacher assigned each of the children a different task.

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Example sentences assign meaning

Elaborative, as opposed to descriptive, titles are particularly important in helping viewers assign meaning to abstract art.
None of the statements given by her assign meaning to the scenes.
Unlike a traditional bubble chart, such displays don't assign meaning to x- or y-axis positions, but seek to pack circles as tightly as possible to make efficient use of space.
They group the words together, creating units that can be assigned meaning.
Among other terms, certain basic terms are assigned meanings.

Definition of 'assign' assign

IPA Pronunciation Guide

Definition of 'meaning' meaning

B1

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Watch CBS News

What happens to a candidate's delegates when they drop out of the primaries?

By Caitlin Yilek

March 6, 2024 / 2:00 PM EST / CBS News

Washington —  Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign on Wednesday after former President Donald Trump accumulated a seemingly insurmountable lead of delegates on Super Tuesday, but what happens to her delegates depends on a number of factors. 

Haley only won one state on Super Tuesday , Vermont, which followed her only other primary victory in Washington, D.C. , earlier this week. The former president is likely to clinch the nomination on March 12. 

Haley's path to the nomination would have become even more difficult after March 15, when Republican Party rules give states the option to award all of their delegates to the candidate with the most votes. 

In the earlier contests, most states award delegates proportionally to the percentage of vote that candidates won either statewide or in individual congressional districts. Some states require candidates to reach a certain threshold of support for any delegates which can be as high as 20%, according to Republican Party rules , unless one candidate wins a major portion of the votes — usually 50% — and it becomes winner-take-all.  

How are delegates technically supposed to vote at their convention? 

Josh Putnam, a political scientist who specializes in delegate rules, said delegates in "the vast majority of cases are locked in" to a candidate heading into the Republican National Convention. 

A candidate who wins a primary or caucus is typically allocated delegate slots that will be filled with actual people at the states' party conventions later on. But if a candidate drops out before those delegate slots are filled with their supporters, those spots may be filled with people who are loyal to another candidate, Putnam said. 

"For the most part, none of those slots have been filled yet," Putnam said of the delegate slots that Haley has been awarded. "If she and her campaign remain active in that selection process, then they may actually be Haley delegates. But if she disengages, then it's likely that the state party fills those delegate slots with Trump-sympathetic folks." 

Putnam thought it would be unlikely for Haley to participate in the selection process for such a small number of delegates. 

"It's not going to have that big of an impact at the convention," he said of whether those delegates are ultimately Haley supporters. "It's not going to make a difference with respect to who the nominee is going to be." 

Why delegates might vote for someone other than their candidate

The candidate a delegate ends up voting for at the national convention in July also depends on state party rules. 

In Iowa, for example, delegates for Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are bound to their candidates until the national convention. But under state rules, if Trump is the only candidate officially nominated at the convention, then the entire Iowa delegation votes for him.  

There are about 150 unbound delegates from a handful of states and U.S. territories who are not required to vote for the candidate who won their state and are free to support the candidate of their choosing. 

Current Republican delegate count for 2024 for Trump and Haley

  • Super Tuesday

Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at cbsnews.com and is based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.

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Cambridge Dictionary

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Meaning of assigned in English

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assign verb [T] ( CHOOSE )

  • Every available officer will be assigned to the investigation .
  • The textbooks were assigned by the course director .
  • Part of the group were assigned to clear land mines .
  • Each trainee is assigned a mentor who will help them learn more about the job .
  • We were assigned an interpreter for the duration of our stay .
  • accommodate
  • accommodate someone with something
  • administration
  • arm someone with something
  • hand something down
  • hand something in
  • hand something out
  • hand something over
  • reassignment

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

assign verb [T] ( SEND )

  • She was assigned to the Paris office .
  • All the team were assigned to Poland.
  • advertisement
  • employment agency
  • equality, diversity and inclusion
  • reinstatement
  • relocation expenses
  • testimonial

assign verb [T] ( COMPUTING )

  • 3-D printing
  • adaptive learning
  • additive manufacturing
  • hexadecimal
  • hill climbing
  • telerobotics
  • word processing

assign verb [T] ( GIVE LEGALLY )

Phrasal verb, examples of assigned.

In English, many past and present participles of verbs can be used as adjectives. Some of these examples may show the adjective use.

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IMAGES

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COMMENTS

  1. ASSIGN

    ASSIGN definition: 1. to give a particular job or piece of work to someone: 2. If you assign a time for a job or…. Learn more.

  2. Assign Definition & Meaning

    assign: [verb] to transfer (property) to another especially in trust or for the benefit of creditors.

  3. assign verb

    1 to give someone something that they can use, or some work or responsibility assign something (to somebody) The two large classrooms have been assigned to us. The teacher assigned a different task to each of the children. assign somebody something We have been assigned the two large classrooms. The teacher assigned each of the children a different task.

  4. ASSIGN definition and meaning

    9 meanings: 1. to select for and appoint to a post, etc 2. to give out or allot (a task, problem, etc) 3. to set apart (a.... Click for more definitions.

  5. assign

    assign. From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English as‧sign /əˈsaɪn/ AWL verb [ transitive] 1 to give someone a particular job or make them responsible for a particular person or thing assign somebody a task/role I've been assigned the task of looking after the new students. assign somebody to something Jan's been assigned to the ...

  6. ASSIGN Definition & Usage Examples

    Assign definition: to give or allocate; allot. See examples of ASSIGN used in a sentence.

  7. ASSIGN

    ASSIGN definition: to give someone a particular job or responsibility: . Learn more.

  8. Assign

    assign: 1 v select something or someone for a specific purpose "The teacher assigned him to lead his classmates in the exercise" Synonyms: set apart , specify Types: dedicate set apart to sacred uses with solemn rites, of a church detail assign to a specific task Type of: choose , pick out , select , take pick out, select, or choose from a ...

  9. ASSIGN Synonyms: 146 Similar and Opposite Words

    Synonyms for ASSIGN: task, entrust, charge, trust, impose, intrust, confer, allocate; Antonyms of ASSIGN: deny, retain, deprive (of), withhold, keep, begrudge, appropriate, stint ... (someone) by one's authority ... While all these words mean "to lay something to the account of a person or thing," assign implies ascribing with certainty or ...

  10. Assign Definition & Meaning

    Britannica Dictionary definition of ASSIGN. [+ object] 1. : to give someone a particular job or duty : to require someone to do a particular task. They assigned me the job of cleaning the equipment. = They assigned the job of cleaning the equipment to me. = They assigned me to clean the equipment. The teacher assigned us 50 math problems for ...

  11. Assign

    Define assign. assign synonyms, assign pronunciation, assign translation, English dictionary definition of assign. tr.v. as·signed , as·sign·ing , as·signs 1. To select for a duty or office; appoint: firefighters assigned to the city's industrial park. ... assign - select something or someone for a specific purpose; "The teacher assigned ...

  12. assign

    assign - WordReference English dictionary, questions, discussion and forums. ... See corresponding entry in Unabridged Assign, allocate, allot mean to apportion or measure ... (one's right, interest, or title to property) to someone else; n. a person to whom property is assigned; assignee; Etymology: 14 th Century: from Old French assigner ...

  13. ASSIGN definition in American English

    assign in American English. (əˈsaɪn ) verb transitive. 1. to set apart or mark for a specific purpose; designate. assign a day for the meeting. 2. to place at some task or duty; appoint. I was assigned to watch the road.

  14. assign verb

    assign something to something Assign a different colour to each different type of information. assign something sth The painting cannot be assigned an exact date. assign something to somebody (law) to say that your property or rights now belong to somebody else. The agreement assigns copyright to the publisher. She has assigned the lease to her ...

  15. Assign meaning definition and meaning

    Assign meaning definition: If you assign a piece of work to someone, you give them the work to do. [...] | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples

  16. ASSIGNING

    ASSIGNING definition: 1. present participle of assign 2. to give a particular job or piece of work to someone: 3. If you…. Learn more.

  17. What is another word for assign

    To assign a responsibility, duty, or task to. To distribute or apportion by (or as if by) lot. To set aside for a specific use. … more . Verb. . To select for a given role or responsibility. appoint. designate.

  18. Reassign Definition & Meaning

    The meaning of REASSIGN is to assign (something or someone) again especially in a new or different way. How to use reassign in a sentence.

  19. Meaning of assign someone to something in English

    ASSIGN SOMEONE TO SOMETHING definition: 1. to choose someone to do a particular job: 2. to choose someone to do a particular job: . Learn more.

  20. ASSIGN MEANING definition in American English

    Features such as electric windows consume energy. Features such as electric windows muster the energy. Aug 03, 2023. beer. Assign meaning definition: If you assign a piece of work to someone, you give them the work to do. [...] | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples in American English.

  21. What happens to a candidate's delegates when they drop out of the

    Haley's path to the nomination would have become even more difficult after March 15, when Republican Party rules give states the option to award all of their delegates to the candidate with the ...

  22. ASSIGNING

    assigning meaning: 1. present participle of assign 2. to give a particular job or piece of work to someone: 3. If you…. Learn more.

  23. ASSIGNED

    ASSIGNED definition: 1. past simple and past participle of assign 2. to give a particular job or piece of work to…. Learn more.