Meaning & use
adjoin
Last updated
UK/əˈdʒɔɪn/
US/əˈdʒɔɪn/
Meaning
verbtransitiveformal
To be right beside something and share a border or wall with it.
Grammar: No preposition needed: the field adjoins the road, not adjoins to the road.
Patterns
- adjoin something
The garden adjoins a quiet park on the east side.
Our hotel room adjoined theirs, so we could hear their music.
The farm adjoins land owned by the church.
Word forms
| third person singular | adjoins |
|---|---|
| past tense | adjoined |
| past participle | adjoined |
| -ing form | adjoining |
Common combinations
- adjoin a property
- The vacant lot adjoins our property at the back.
- adjoining room
- We booked two adjoining rooms for the family.
- adjoining land
- The farmer bought the adjoining land to extend his fields.
- adjoining building
- The library and the adjoining building share a courtyard.
- adjoining states
- The storm affected adjoining states as well.
Synonyms and how they differ
- border
- Border is used for countries, regions or land boundaries, while adjoin can describe rooms and buildings too.
- abut
- Abut suggests touching along an edge and is more technical, often used in law and construction.
- touch
- Touch is a general word and does not imply a shared boundary the way adjoin does.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: adjoin or adjourn?
adjoin vs adjourn
Adjourn means to pause or end a meeting, with a different spelling and sound from adjoin, which means to be next to something.
Practice
Which sentence correctly uses adjoin?
Choose one answer.
Adjoin is transitive and takes its object directly, so no preposition is used. The other options add an incorrect preposition.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “adjoin”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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