JOIN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does join mean? 

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

1. the shape or manner in which things come together and a connection is made

2. a set containing all and only the members of two or more given sets

  Familiarity information: JOIN used as a noun is rare.

• JOIN (verb)
  The verb JOIN has 5 senses:

1. become part of; become a member of a group or organization

2. cause to become joined or linked

3. come into the company of

4. make contact or come together

5. be or become joined or united or linked

  Familiarity information: JOIN used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• JOIN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The shape or manner in which things come together and a connection is made

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Synonyms:

articulation; join; joint; junction; juncture

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

connection; connexion; link (a connecting shape)

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

esophagogastric junction; oesophagogastric junction (the junction between the esophagus and the stomach epithelium)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A set containing all and only the members of two or more given sets

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

join; sum; union

Context example:

let C be the union of the sets A and B

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

set (a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used)

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

direct sum (a union of two disjoint sets in which every element is the sum of an element from each of the disjoint sets)

• JOIN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they join    ... he / she / it joins   
Past simple: joined   
Past participle: joined   
-ing form: joining   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Become part of; become a member of a group or organization

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

fall in; get together; join

Context example:

He joined the Communist Party as a young man

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

sign up (join a club, an activity, etc. with the intention to join or participate)

unify; unite (act in concert or unite in a common purpose or belief)

infiltrate; penetrate (enter a group or organization in order to spy on the members)

rejoin (join again)

affiliate (join in an affiliation)

organise; organize; unionise; unionize (form or join a union)

band oneself; league together (attach oneself to a group)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

joiner (a person who likes to join groups)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cause to become joined or linked

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

join these two parts so that they fit together

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

connect; link; link up; tie (connect, fasten, or put together two or more pieces)

Cause:

conjoin; join (make contact or come together)

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

fair (join so that the external surfaces blend smoothly)

scarf (unite by a scarf joint)

rebate (join with a rebate)

rabbet (join with a rabbet joint)

seam (put together with a seam)

bridge (make a bridge across)

close (bring together all the elements or parts of)

ligate (join letters in a ligature when writing)

assemble; piece; put together; set up; tack; tack together (create by putting components or members together)

sovietise; sovietize (bring under Soviet control, of a country)

couple; match; mate; pair; twin (bring two objects, ideas, or people together)

mortice; mortise (join by a tenon and mortise)

match (give or join in marriage)

anastomose; inosculate (cause to join or open into each other by anastomosis)

close; close up (unite or bring into contact or bring together the edges of)

ply (join together as by twisting, weaving, or molding)

miter (fit together in a miter joint)

connect (join by means of communication equipment)

connect (join for the purpose of communication)

ancylose; ankylose (produce ankylosis by surgery)

cog (join pieces of wood with cogs)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Antonym:

disjoin (make disjoint, separated, or disconnected; undo the joining of)

Derivation:

joining (the act of bringing two things into contact (especially for communication))

junction (an act of joining or adjoining things)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Come into the company of

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

She joined him for a drink

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 4

Meaning:

Make contact or come together

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

conjoin; join

Context example:

The two roads join here

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

connect; link; link up; tie (connect, fasten, or put together two or more pieces)

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

weld (join together by heating)

entwine; knit (tie or link together)

quilt (stitch or sew together)

solder (join or fuse with solder)

patch; piece (to join or unite the pieces of)

splice (join the ends of)

splice (join together so as to form new genetic combinations)

yoke (become joined or linked together)

copulate; couple; mate; pair (engage in sexual intercourse)

anastomose; inosculate (come together or open into each other)

engraft; graft; ingraft (cause to grow together parts from different plants)

cross-link (join by creating covalent bonds (of adjacent chains of a polymer or protein))

attach (become attached)

feather (join tongue and groove, in carpentry)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Antonym:

disjoin (become separated, disconnected or disjoint)

Derivation:

joining (the act of bringing two things into contact (especially for communication))

Sense 5

Meaning:

Be or become joined or united or linked

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

connect; join; link; link up; unite

Context example:

The travelers linked up again at the airport

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

syndicate (join together into a syndicate)

articulate (unite by forming a joint or joints)

complect; interconnect; interlink (be interwoven or interconnected)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

joining (the act of bringing two things into contact (especially for communication))

jointure (the act of making or becoming a single unit)

juncture (the shape or manner in which things come together and a connection is made)

 Context examples 

But the marsupials' dominant status changed, according to the researchers, when tectonic plate movement joined the ancient island with the larger landmass.

(Fossil discovery adds to understanding of how geological changes affected evolution of mammalian life, National Science Foundation)

Scientists will be looking at Pluto next year to see if it will join this list.

(Voyager Map Details Neptune's Strange Moon Triton, NASA)

Jo went and sat on one arm of the chair, looking as if she thought they were about to join in some very solemn affair.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Hydrogen springs from Venus to join the solar wind, the continuous stream of particles escaping the Sun.

(The ice giant Uranus appears to be losing a bit of its atmosphere to space, NASA)

Combined or joined to increase in size or quantity or scope.

(Added, NCI Thesaurus)

Maria joined them with the same intent, just then the stoutest of the three; for the very circumstance which had driven Julia away was to her the sweetest support.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Miss Wickfield, if you have any love for your father, you had better not join that gang.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

By joining this natural lens with the resolving power of Hubble, scientists were able to see into the center of the dead galaxy.

(Massive Dead Disk Galaxy Challenges Theories of Galaxy Evolution, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Very true, my dear; and if we knew anybody we would join them directly.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

The youth also wanted to play and said: “Listen you, can I join you?”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)