Meaning & use
connect
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To join one thing to another so that they are linked or can work together.
Grammar: Takes an object and often to or with: connect the printer to the computer.
Patterns
- connect something to something
- connect something with something
Connect the cable to the back of the TV.
A new bridge connects the island with the mainland.
The plumber connected the sink to the water supply.
verbintransitive
To be joined or linked, or to make a link between two places, services, or journeys.
Grammar: No object; often used with to or with: the train connects with the ferry.
Patterns
- connect to something
- connect with something
The two rooms connect through a small door.
Our flight connects with a later one to Tokyo.
The road connects to the highway near the mill.
verbtransitive
To see or show a relationship between people, ideas, or events.
Grammar: Takes an object: police connected him to the crime; also used as connect the dots.
Patterns
- connect someone to something
- connect something with something
Police connected the fingerprints to the robbery.
Many people connect summer with ice cream.
Nothing connects the two cases.
verbintransitive
To form a friendly or understanding bond with another person or an audience.
Grammar: No object, followed by with: connect with the audience.
Patterns
- connect with someone
The speaker connected with the audience right away.
Teachers who connect with their students get better results.
We connected over a love of music.
Word forms
| third person singular | connects |
|---|---|
| past tense | connected |
| past participle | connected |
| -ing form | connecting |
Common combinations
- connect to the internet
- My phone cannot connect to the internet.
- connect with people
- She loves to connect with people from other countries.
- connect the dots
- Reading both reports helped us connect the dots.
- connecting flight
- I missed my connecting flight in Chicago.
- connect directly
- The tunnel connects the two stations directly.
- connect wirelessly
- The speaker connects wirelessly to your phone.
Synonyms and how they differ
- link
- Link often suggests a logical or physical chain between two things, while connect is broader and includes plugging devices in.
- join
- Join means to bring things together into one, while connect keeps the two items distinct but linked.
- attach
- Attach means to fasten something firmly onto another thing, while connect can be a loose link or a signal.
- relate
- Relate is used mainly for ideas or facts and means to show how they are linked, not physically join them.
Opposites
Word family
- connection noun
- a link between two things or people
- connected adjective
- joined or linked
- connector noun
- a device that joins parts together
- disconnect verb
- to break a connection
- reconnect verb
- to join or link again
Commonly confused: connect or connote?
connect vs connote
Connote means to suggest an additional idea beyond a word's literal meaning, while connect means to join.
Practice
The speaker managed to ____ with the young audience through humor.
Choose one answer.
Connect with an audience means to build a rapport. Attach and join do not take with in this sense, and relate would need a different pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “connect”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.