I. ˈjȯin dial ˈjīn verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English joinen, from Old French join-, joign-, stem of joindre, from Latin jungere — more at yoke
transitive verb
1.
a. : to put or bring together and fasten, connect, or relate so as to form a single unit, a whole, or a continuity : combine , link
join two blocks of wood with glue
two moral forces, separate and yet joined
join forces in an effort to stamp out vice
a bridge joining the two halves of the city
b. : to connect (as points) by a line (as a straight line)
c. : adjoin
his studio there joined that of the famous sculptor — J.T.Marshall
2. : to put or bring into close contact, association, or relationship : attach , unite , couple
was later joined to another battalion
the agitation of his mind, joined to the pain of his wound, kept him awake — Francis Parkman
joined in marriage by a local minister
3. : to enter into or engage in (battle)
4.
a.
(1) : to come into the company of : come into local contact or association with
joins his wife and three children around the breakfast table — Stuart Chase
joined us for lunch
(2) : to come to
at the next town we join another route
b. : to connect or associate oneself with:
(1) : to participate in : enter into
joined the defense of Paris as commander of naval antiaircraft batteries — Current Biography
(2) : to ally oneself with
join the government in condemning foreign aggression
(3) : board
join a vehicle
especially : to go aboard (a ship) usually as a member of the personnel
joined the destroyer as executive officer
(4) : to become a member or associate of
join a church
join a faculty
ran away from school to join a traveling tent show — Current Biography
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to come together so as to be connected or united
English nouns join easily to form compounds
b. : adjoin
at this point the two estates join
2. : to come into close association or relationship: as
a. : to form or enter into an alliance or league
business interests joined to maintain the consolidated system — American Guide Series: Minnesota
— often used with up
the three clubs joined up to improve the town's playground facilities
b. : to become a member of a group or organization
an ambulance service was organized and I joined in as a stretcher bearer — Nevil Shute
he is now a Mason but he did not join until last year
two weeks after he joined up he was sent into the fighting area and saw immediate action
c. : to enter into or take part in a collective activity
join in singing the national anthem
when there was group dancing … they all joined in together — Cabell Phillips
Synonyms:
conjoin , link , connect , relate , associate , combine , unite all signify a bringing or coming together into a more or less close union. relate and associate suggest the loosest and most unspecific of unions; link , join , conjoin , and connect suggest a closer contact to the point of a physical or moral attachment; combine and unite suggest a union to the point of some loss of identity or a complete loss of identity of the separate elements. Of the pair relate and associate , associate emphasizes the mere fact of the bringing, coming, or being together of two or more persons or things although it suggests by customary implication some kind of unspecified often intangible but compatible or companionable interaction
associate with shady characters
associate the sense of hunger and the search for food
was associated with the hospital from 1889 until 1919 — American Guide Series: Maryland
the smooth ultralegato style now often associated with English music of the period — E.T.Canby
relate can signify a bringing or coming together in any number of ways so that the two or more things have some generally only implied physical, moral, or logical bearing on each other
the wing of a bird and the arm of a man are historically related
an interrogation point which relates the title closely to the text — G.W.Johnson
not the least merit of the book is that it relates the history of science to other thought currents — F.L.Baumer
their ability to relate what they observe to what they know or have previously observed — Gertrude H. Hildreth
Although they are used to signify a more specific union, link , connect , join , and conjoin in their nonphysical application may suggest a bringing or coming together as general and unspecified as that implied by relate or associate but tend more, especially in physical application, to signify a junction of some kind, often an inseparable junction as by a chain or by bonding. connect is the most general of these four and suggests a loose attachment, especially one that preserves the identity of the elements and the evidence of the connection
connect the two ends of the pipe
connect the two houses by a path
the criminal activity has been connected with the names of several prominent men
a number of articles connected with her life — American Guide Series: Rhode Island
link suggests a slightly closer coupling especially in the physical application of the word in which is implied inseparability but of still clearly identifiably separate elements
the bridge linking the islands of North Hero and Grand Isle — American Guide Series: Vermont
none of the subjects that linked us together could be talked about in a bar — Nevil Shute
eight Anarchists were condemned to death or life imprisonment in a trial that linked them to this Haymarket Riot — J.D.Hart
join usually suggests strongly the idea of physical or moral contact or junction or the making of a continuity of two or more things
apply glue to the edges to be joined
join the ends of the wires with solder
a common purpose joined their efforts
conjoin usually emphasized both the togetherness of a joining and the separateness of the things joined
three conjoined quadrangular beakers with a common cover — Parke-Bernet Galleries Catalog
a scientific realism, based on mechanism, is conjoined with an unwavering belief in the world of men … as being composed of self-determining organisms — A.N.Whitehead
combine and unite usually emphasize the first a mingling and the second a union or integration in which individual identity is lost in a common aim or in the formation of a new product from the mingling or itegration. combine stresses a merging by intermixture
combine ingredients in making a cake
combines Georgian Colonial and Classical Revival designs — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania
beauty and melody and graceful motion … were combined in her — W.H.Hudson †1922
unite strongly emphasizes the singleness resulting from the junction of persons or elements
unite the separated army divisions
certain chemical elements unite to form gases
unite two people in a common purpose
unite a couple in marriage
a cooperative community in which manual and intellectual labor might be united — Allan MacDonald
•
- join hands
- join out
- join the issue
II. noun
( -s )
1. : something that joins : a place or line where joining occurs : joint
ensure accurately matching joins — W.P.Matthew
the joins between the veins and the arteries, the capillaries — S.F.Mason
the join of lid and box
2. : a splice in magnetic recording tape
III. noun
: union 1 herein