ALLY (allied)

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: allied   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ally mean? 

• ALLY (noun)
  The noun ALLY has 2 senses:

1. a friendly nation

2. an associate who provides cooperation or assistance

  Familiarity information: ALLY used as a noun is rare.

• ALLY (verb)
  The verb ALLY has 1 sense:

1. become an ally or associate, as by a treaty or marriage

  Familiarity information: ALLY used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ALLY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A friendly nation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("ally" is a kind of...):

body politic; commonwealth; country; land; nation; res publica; state (a politically organized body of people under a single government)

Holonyms ("ally" is a member of...):

alignment; alinement; alliance; coalition (an organization of people (or countries) involved in a pact or treaty)

Derivation:

ally (become an ally or associate, as by a treaty or marriage)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An associate who provides cooperation or assistance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

ally; friend

Context example:

he's a good ally in fight

Hypernyms ("ally" is a kind of...):

associate (a person who joins with others in some activity or endeavor)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ally"):

blood brother (a male sworn (usually by a ceremony involving the mingling of blood) to treat another as his brother)

Derivation:

ally (become an ally or associate, as by a treaty or marriage)

• ALLY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they ally ... he / she / it allies
Past simple: allied   
Past participle: allied   
-ing form: allying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Become an ally or associate, as by a treaty or marriage

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

He allied himself with the Communists

Hypernyms (to "ally" is one way to...):

affiliate; associate; assort; consort (keep company with; hang out with)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "ally"):

misally (make a bad alliance; ally inappropriately)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody PP

Derivation:

alliance (the act of forming an alliance or confederation)

ally (a friendly nation)

ally (an associate who provides cooperation or assistance)

 Context examples 

Then the certitude of his ultimate success rose up in him, an able ally of hunger, and with a quick movement he slipped the coin into his pocket.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Yes, said our ally, I am Bob Carruthers, and I’ll see this woman righted, if I have to swing for it.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As I descended, my old ally, the guard, came out of the room and closed the door tightly behind him.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It is justifiable to enter into war against our nearest ally, when one of his towns lies convenient for us, or a territory of land, that would render our dominions round and complete.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

By identifying evolutionary rescue hotspots, humans can facilitate that process - like maintaining large and connected populations in these areas — allowing evolution to become an ally for conservation.

(Twenty-one species adapted to disappear in the snow. Then, the snow disappeared, National Science Foundation)

By my soul! had you asked as much from our new ally Don Pedro, he had not baulked you.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I began to believe that I had found an ally, and I answered him at once.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

MHC is critical to health and fitness, such that MHC genotype may predict an individual's quality or compatibility as a competitor, ally or mate.

(Lemurs can smell whether a mate's immune genes are a good match, National Science Foundation)

We had returned across the plateau with our allies two days after the battle, and made our camp at the foot of their cliffs.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

An aromatic hydrocarbon in coal tar, allied to naphthalene and anthracene.

(Chrysene, NCI Thesaurus)