orientate

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English

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Etymology

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From orient +‎ -ate[1] or a back-formation from orientation.[2]

Pronunciation

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Verb

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orientate (third-person singular simple present orientates, present participle orientating, simple past and past participle orientated)

  1. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, intransitive) To face a given direction.
  2. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, reflexive) To determine one's position relative to the surroundings; to orient (oneself).
    He came out of the station and took some time to orientate himself.
  3. To arrange in order; to dispose or place (a body) so as to show its relation to other bodies, or the relation of its parts among themselves.
    • 1848, James Dwight Dana, Manual of Mineralogy:
      The one preferred is to make the dominant forms first order, that is, orientated in such a way as to intersect both horizontal crystallographic axes.
  4. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, transitive) To position (something), to align relative to a given position.
    Try to orientate your students towards the science subjects.
  5. (archaic) To move or turn toward the east; to veer from the north or south toward the east.

Usage notes

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ orientate, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
  2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “orientate (v.)”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  3. ^ Paul Brians (2009) “orientate”, in Common Errors in English Usage, 2nd edition, Wilsonville, Or.: William, James & Company, →ISBN.

Anagrams

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Italian

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Etymology 1

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Verb

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orientate

  1. inflection of orientare:
    1. second-person plural present indicative
    2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

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Participle

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orientate f pl

  1. feminine plural of orientato

Spanish

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Verb

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orientate

  1. second-person singular voseo imperative of orientar combined with te