Meaning & use
connect to someone
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiom
to form a friendly or emotional bond with another person.
Grammar: No object after 'to'; the person follows 'to': connect to someone.
Patterns
- connect to someone
- connect to someone through something
- connect to someone over something
She found it hard to connect to her new classmates at first.
Good teachers connect to their students on a personal level.
He says he connects to his grandfather through old photographs.
phraseidiomtechnical
to join a person by phone, video, or network link so you can talk or exchange data.
Grammar: Often used in the passive with 'be connected to someone': I was connected to a helpful agent.
Patterns
- connect someone to someone
- be connected to someone
- connect to someone by phone
The receptionist connected me to someone in the billing department.
Can you connect me to someone who speaks Spanish?
Once the app is open, you can connect to someone anywhere in the world.
Common combinations
- connect to someone emotionally
- The film helped him connect to his brother emotionally.
- connect to someone on a deeper level
- They connected to each other on a deeper level after the trip.
- hard to connect to someone
- It can be hard to connect to someone who seems so distant.
- connect someone to someone
- The operator connected the caller to someone in support.
- connect to someone instantly
- She connects to children instantly because she listens so well.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bond with someone
- Stronger and warmer; it suggests a lasting close relationship rather than a moment of understanding.
- relate to someone
- Focuses on understanding someone's feelings or situation, not necessarily becoming close.
- identify with someone
- Means you feel you are like that person; it does not always mean you actually talk or bond.
Opposites
Word family
- connection noun
- A link or relationship between people or things.
- connected adjective
- Having a close relationship with someone, or joined to a system.
- connective adjective
- Joining things together, as in connective tissue.
Commonly confused: connect to someone or connect with someone?
connect to someone vs connect with someone
Very similar and often interchangeable, but 'connect with' is more common in general use; 'connect to' is more frequent for emotional bonds in some styles and for equipment links.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'connect to someone' most naturally to mean forming an emotional bond?
Choose one answer.
'Connected to the shy boy' describes an emotional bond, which is the main sense here. Option 1 is wrong because a printer is not a person, and option 4 uses 'connect' in an unrelated accounting sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “connect to someone”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.