assign
assign — verb
1. to officially tell someone that a particular job, piece of work, or duty is now
to officially tell someone that a particular job, piece of work, or duty is now their responsibility — for example, a teacher giving homework, or a manager handing out projects at work.
Ms. Lin assigned the chapter on volcanoes to her geography class for homework.
assign + something + to + somebody
The editor assigned Rachel two long interviews and a short review for next month.
assign + somebody + two objects
Junior nurses are usually assigned the night shift during their first year.
Jamal was assigned to the marketing team after the company reorganized its offices.
Please do not assign extra cleaning duties to the volunteers without telling me first.
- withhold
to deliberately not give someone a task or resource
文法句型
assign + somebody + something
assign + something + to + somebody
be assigned + to + something
用法筆記
Object is usually a job, role, or task; the person receiving it appears either as a second object or after 'to'. Frequently passive — the receiver often becomes the subject ('she was assigned...').
常見錯誤
2. to send a worker, soldier, or official to a particular place or position so they
to send a worker, soldier, or official to a particular place or position so they can do their job there.
The army assigned Captain Reyes to a small base near the northern border last spring.
assign + person + to + place
Two young diplomats were assigned to the embassy in Tokyo for a three-year posting.
passive: be assigned to + post
The reporter has been assigned to cover the climate summit in Brazil next month.
After training, new officers are usually assigned to busy city precincts for their first year.
- recall
to officially order someone back from a posting
文法句型
assign + somebody + to + place/post
be assigned + to + place
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 gives someone a TASK or DUTY; this sense sends them to a LOCATION or POSITION. Almost always followed by 'to', and very often passive.
常見錯誤
3. to choose and set aside a specific time, day, or period during which a particula
to choose and set aside a specific time, day, or period during which a particular activity will happen.
The coach assigned Tuesday evening for extra practice before the regional finals.
assign + day + for + activity
Our manager assigned thirty minutes to each candidate during the long interview day.
assign + duration + to + each item
The school has assigned the first week of June for end-of-year exams.
The committee assigned Friday afternoon for the budget discussion at next week's meeting.
文法句型
assign + a time/date + for + something
assign + a time/date + to + something
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: here the object is always a time slot or period, never a task or person. Often used in scheduling, study planning, or event organising contexts.
常見錯誤
4. to formally label a thing with a particular score, rating, value, or category —
to formally label a thing with a particular score, rating, value, or category — typical in grading, classification systems, and measurement.
The judges assigned each gymnastics routine a difficulty score from one to ten.
assign + thing + score
Doctors assign a higher risk level to patients over seventy with diabetes.
assign + value + to + group
The museum has assigned 'priceless' status to a small jade figure from the Tang dynasty.
Programmers often assign a default value to a variable before any user input arrives.
文法句型
assign + a value/property + to + something
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 6: this sense puts a label, score, or category onto a thing; sense 6 names the cause of an event or behaviour. Object here is the thing receiving the label, never an event.
常見錯誤
5. in programming, to place a specific value into a named variable or memory locati
in programming, to place a specific value into a named variable or memory location so the program can use it later.
The function assigns the user's age to the variable named 'years' before checking it.
assign + value + to + variable
In Python, you assign a string to a variable using a single equals sign.
Make sure you assign a default value before the loop starts, or the program will crash.
The script assigns each customer ID to a new row in the database table.
文法句型
assign + a value + to + a variable
用法筆記
Technical use only — found in programming tutorials, code comments, and software documentation. The 'to' phrase always names where the value goes (variable, memory address, register).
常見錯誤
6. to state, after thinking carefully, what you believe caused something to happen
to state, after thinking carefully, what you believe caused something to happen or why someone behaved in a certain way.
Historians have assigned the empire's collapse to several decades of poor harvests and heavy taxes.
assign + outcome + to + cause
The report assigned the rise in accidents to driver fatigue rather than mechanical failure.
Critics have assigned different motives to the painter's sudden move to Paris in 1889.
Investigators were careful not to assign blame before the fire inspection was complete.
文法句型
assign + a reason/cause + to + something/somebody
用法筆記
Formal, mostly in academic, journalistic, or legal writing. Distinguish from sense 4: this names the WHY of an event; sense 4 names a property or value of a thing.
常見錯誤
7. in law, to formally hand over your money, property, or legal rights to another p
in law, to formally hand over your money, property, or legal rights to another person or company through a signed document.
Mrs. Patel assigned her shop and its lease to her younger brother before moving to Canada.
assign + property + to + person
The novelist assigned the film rights of her book to a small studio in Berlin.
assign + rights + to + company
Under the contract, the inventor assigns all patents to the company that funded her research.
Before he died, the old farmer assigned his land to a trust set up for his grandchildren.
- retain
to legally keep ownership rather than transferring it
文法句型
assign + property/rights + to + somebody
用法筆記
Strictly legal language — wills, contracts, intellectual-property documents. Distinguish from senses 1 and 2: this transfers OWNERSHIP, not a task or a posting. The receiver is called the 'assignee'.