assign

Syllables: as·sign/əˈsaɪn/

assign verb: to designate or set apart (something) for some purpose.

Verb

assign (third-person singular simple present assigns, present participle assigning, simple past and past participle assigned)

(transitive) To designate or set apart (something) for some purpose.
- to assign a day for trial
Synonyms:

allocate
(transitive) To appoint or select (someone) for some office.
- to assign counsel for a prisoner
(transitive) To allot or give (something) as a task.
- “I cannot do it, Sir !” was his reply. “I fire into their ranks, and that does as well ; but to single out one among them, and mark him for death, would lie upon my mind afterwards.” The man who could feel thus was worthy of a better station than that in which his lot had been assigned.1829, Robert Southey, Sir Thomas More: Or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society, volume I, London: John Murray, page 210
- He assigned his men to their several posts, talked boldly of maintaining himself against all the troops of Spain, and by his cheerful tone endeavoured to inspire a confidence in others which he was far from feeling himself.1857, William Hickling Prescott, “War with France”, in History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, new edition, volume I, London: G. Routledge & Co., page 116
Synonyms:

commission
(transitive) To attribute or sort (something) into categories.
1. (transitive) To categorize (someone) as belonging to the male or female sex.
(transitive) To transfer (property, a legal right, etc.) from one person to another.

Synonyms:

consign
(transitive) To give (a value) to a variable.
- We assign 100 to x.

Noun

assign (plural assigns)

An assignee.
- Scrooge knew he was dead ? Of course he did. How could it be otherwise ? Scrooge and he were partners for I don’t know how many years. Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend and his sole mourner.1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave I. Marley’s Ghost.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 2
(obsolete) A thing relating or belonging to something else; an appurtenance.
- The King ſir hath wagerd with him ſix Barbary horſes, againgſt the which hee has impaund as I take it ſix French Rapiers and Poynards, with their aſſignes, as girdle, hanger and ſo.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604...
(obsolete) An assignment or appointment.
(obsolete) A design or purpose.
- He aim’d at high designs, and so attain’d / The high assigns to which his spirit aim’d.1609, John Ford, “Fame's Memorial: An Elegy upon the Earl of Devonshire”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), page 9

assign meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

assign in Hindi

to designate or set apart something for some purpose: निर्दिष्ट nirdiṣṭ, आवंटित करना āvaṇṭit karnā
to appoint or select someone for some office: नियुक्त करना niyukt karnā
to allot or give something as a task: निर्दिष्ट nirdiṣṭ

assign in Tamil

உரிமை மாற்று, ஒதுக்கு, ஒப்படை, குறித்தளி, குறித்தொதுக்கு, பேற்றுரிமையாளர்

assign in Urdu

to designate or set apart something for some purpose: سَون٘پْنا sa͠upnā

assign in Bengali

দায়িত্ব অর্পণ করা, কর্মের দায়িত্ব অপর্ণ করা, নিযুক্ত করা, নির্ধারিত করা, স্থির করা, অংশবিভাজন করিয়া দেওয়া

More languagesFewer languages

assign in Malayalam: തലയിൽ ഇടുക talayil iṭuka
assign in Kannada: ಕೆಲಸ ಹಂಚು, ಗೊತ್ತುಪಡಿಸು, ಕಾರ್ಯ ನಿಗದಿಮಾಡು, ನಿಯೋಜಿಸು
assign in Sanskrit: जनति jánati, दिश् diś, दिशति diśáti
assign in Tagalog: italaga, itakda
assign in Arabic: تعيين شخص لعمل ما

Examples of assign in a sentence

We assign each item inspected a rating from A through G, depending on various factors.
Perhaps I should make myself scarce before he finds any more chores to assign me.
When assigning custody, the preference of the child will be considered, but it is not determinative.

All 40 example sentences with assign

Synonyms of assign

All synonyms of assign

Forms of assign

Verb
third-person singular present	assigns
present participle	assigning
past participle	assigned
past	assigned
Noun
plural	assigns

Past tense of assign: assigned

Origin of assign

From Middle English assignen, from Old French assigner, asigner, from Latin assignō, from ad- + signō (“mark, sign”).

Words formed from assign

Words that rhyme with assign

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about assign

What does assign mean?: Assign means to designate or set apart (something) for some purpose.
What is assign in Hindi?: Assign in Hindi is निर्दिष्ट (nirdiṣṭ), आवंटित करना (āvaṇṭit karnā), नियुक्त करना (niyukt karnā). See Assign meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is assign?: Assign can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce assign?: Assign is pronounced /əˈsaɪn/.
What is the past tense of assign?: The past tense of assign is assigned.

Words near assign in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: assign (page history and authors); assign (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); assign (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); തലയിൽ ഇടുക (Malayalam) (page history and authors); assign (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); जनति (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-assign.ogg.

Cite this entry: “assign.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/assign. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.