overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

assign.

To designate or set apart (something) for some purpose.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/əˈsaɪn/
  1. To designate or set apart (something) for some purpose.

    transitive
    to assign a day for trial
  2. To appoint or select (someone) for some office.

    transitive
    to assign counsel for a prisoner
  3. To allot or give (something) as a task.

    transitive
  4. To attribute or sort (something) into categories.

    transitive
  5. To attribute or sort (something) into categories. To categorize (someone) as belonging to the male or female sex.

    transitive
  6. To transfer (property, a legal right, etc.) from one person to another.

    transitive
  7. To give (a value) to a variable.

    transitive
    We assign 100 to x.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *sek-? Proto-Indo-European *-nóm Proto-Italic *segnom Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Proto-Italic *segnāō Latin signō Latin assignōlbor. Old French assignerbor. Middle English assignen English assign From Middle English assignen, from Old French assigner, asigner, from Latin assignō, from ad- + signō (“mark, sign”).

noun/əˈsaɪn/
  1. An assignee.

  2. A thing relating or belonging to something else; an appurtenance.

    obsolete
  3. An assignment or appointment.

    obsolete
  4. A design or purpose.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *sek-? Proto-Indo-European *-nóm Proto-Italic *segnom Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Proto-Italic *segnāō Latin signō Latin assignōlbor. Old French assignerbor. Middle English assignen English assign From Middle English assignen, from Old French assigner, asigner, from Latin assignō, from ad- + signō (“mark, sign”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

assign has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

assign studioassign workshello, assign

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.