Assign
Definition
Assign refers to the act of allocating, designating, or appointing a task, responsibility, or resource to a person, group, or purpose. It is often used in contexts where specific duties or rights are distributed.
Parts of Speech
- Verb
Pronunciation
American English
- IPA Pronunciation: /əˈsaɪn/
- Respelling: uh-SINE
British English
- IPA Pronunciation: /əˈsaɪn/
- Respelling: uh-SINE
The pronunciation of "assign" is consistent in both American and British English.
Etymology
The word "assign" originates from the Middle English "assigne," derived from the Old French "assigner," which in turn comes from the Latin "assignare." The Latin components are "ad-" meaning "to" and "signare," meaning "to mark" or "to sign," indicating the act of designating or marking something for a purpose.
Derivatives
- Assignment (noun)
- Assignee (noun)
- Assignable (adjective)
- Reassign (verb)
- Assignation (noun)
Synonyms
- Allocate
- Designate
- Appoint
Antonyms
- Remove
- Withdraw
- Reject
Usage
The word "assign" is often used in contexts related to work, responsibilities, and resources. For example, "The manager will assign tasks to each team member," or "The teacher assigned homework to the students."
Related Terms
- Task: A piece of work to be done or undertaken.
- Allocation: The process of distributing resources or duties.
- Delegation: The act of entrusting responsibilities to another person.
Detailed Definitions
Verb
- To allocate or designate a task, responsibility, or resource to someone: Refers to formally giving someone a specific duty or right.
- Example: "The supervisor assigned the report-writing task to Tom."
- To appoint someone to a particular role or position: Refers to placing someone in a job, position, or duty.
- Example: "She was assigned as the project manager for the upcoming initiative."
- To transfer property rights or interests: Used in legal contexts to indicate the transfer of rights or ownership to another party.
- Example: "The rights to the patent were assigned to a new company."
assign
The coach assigned the player to the forward position, knowing their skills would be best utilized there.
The project manager assigned a specific budget and timeline to each team to ensure the work was completed efficiently.
The teacher assigned each student an essay topic to write about for their homework.
🇨🇳 Mandarin
- 分配 (fēnpèi): allocate
- IPA Pronunciation: /fən˥ peɪ˥˩/
- Respelling: fen1 pei4
- 指派 (zhǐpài): appoint
- IPA Pronunciation: /ʈʂʐ̩˧˥ paɪ˥˩/
- Respelling: zhi3 pai4
🇮🇳 Hindi
- सौंपना (saunpna): allocate
- IPA Pronunciation: /səʊmpnə/
- Respelling: saumpna
- नियुक्त करना (niyukt karna): appoint
- IPA Pronunciation: /nɪjʊkt kərnə/
- Respelling: niyukt karna
🇪🇸 Spanish
- Asignar: assign
- IPA Pronunciation: /a.siɣˈnar/
- Respelling: ah-see-nyar
🇫🇷 French
- Attribuer: allocate
- IPA Pronunciation: /a.tʁi.bɥe/
- Respelling: a-tree-bwe
- Désigner: appoint
- IPA Pronunciation: /de.zi.ɲe/
- Respelling: day-zee-nyay
🇦🇪 Modern Standard Arabic
- تعيين (taʿyīn): appoint
- IPA Pronunciation: /tʕaʔˈjiːn/
- Respelling: ta'yeen
- توزيع (tawzīʿ): allocate
- IPA Pronunciation: /tawˈziːʕ/
- Respelling: tawzee'
🇧🇩 Bengali
- বরাদ্দ (boradda): allocate
- IPA Pronunciation: /bɔradda/
- Respelling: boradda
- নির্বাচন (nirbacana): appoint
- IPA Pronunciation: /nirbacana/
- Respelling: nirbacana
🇷🇺 Russian
- Назначить (naznačitʹ): appoint
- IPA Pronunciation: /nəznɐˈʨitj/
- Respelling: naznachit'
- Распределить (raspredelitʹ): allocate
- IPA Pronunciation: /rɐsprjɪˈdʲelʲɪtj/
- Respelling: raspredelit'
🇵🇹 Portuguese
- Atribuir: allocate
- IPA Pronunciation: /a.tʁi'bwiɾ/
- Respelling: a-tree-bweer
- Designar: appoint
- IPA Pronunciation: /de.zi.ɲaɾ/
- Respelling: de-zee-nyahr
🇮🇩 Indonesian
- Menugaskan: assign
- IPA Pronunciation: /mənu'ɡaskan/
- Respelling: me-noo-gahs-kan
🇩🇪 German
- Zuweisen: assign
- IPA Pronunciation: /t͡suˈvaɪzn̩/
- Respelling: tsoo-vaisen
- Ernennen: appoint
- IPA Pronunciation: /ɛrˈnɛmən/
- Respelling: er-nem-men
🇯🇵 Japanese
- 割り当てる (わりあてる, wariate): allocate
- IPA Pronunciation: /waɾi a te ɾɯ/
- Respelling: wa-ri-a-te-ru
- 任命する (にんめいする, ninmei suru): appoint
- IPA Pronunciation: /ɲinmei sɯɾɯ/
- Respelling: nin-mei-su-ru
🇻🇳 Vietnamese
- Phân công: assign
- IPA Pronunciation: /faan˧˥ kɔŋ˧˥/
- Respelling: fahn kawng
- Bổ nhiệm: appoint
- IPA Pronunciation: /ɓo˧ ɲiəm˧/
- Respelling: boh nyiem
🇰🇷 Korean
- 할당하다 (hal-dang-ha-da): allocate
- IPA Pronunciation: /hald͡ʑaŋɦada/
- Respelling: hal-dang-ha-da
- 임명하다 (im-myeong-ha-da): appoint
- IPA Pronunciation: /imjʌŋɦada/
- Respelling: im-myeong-ha-da
🇹🇷 Turkish
- Atamak: assign
- IPA Pronunciation: /ɑtɑmɑk/
- Respelling: a-ta-mak
- Görevlendirmek: appoint
- IPA Pronunciation: /ɟœɾevlendirmek/
- Respelling: gyur-ev-len-dir-mek
🇵🇰 Urdu
- تقسیم کرنا (taqseem karna): allocate
- IPA Pronunciation: /təqsiːm kərnə/
- Respelling: taqseem karna
- تعین کرنا (ta'een karna): appoint
- IPA Pronunciation: /tə.ʔiːn kərnə/
- Respelling: ta'een karna
