Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: joindre, from Latin jungere

join

1 verb
     
join1 S1 W1
1

group/organization

[transitive] to become a member of an organization, society, or group:
When did you join the Labour party?
I decided to join the army.
You can enjoy a sport without joining a club or belonging to a team.
2

activity

[transitive] to begin to take part in an activity that other people are involved in:
Many sacrificed their weekend to join the hunt for the missing girl.
the benefits of joining our pension scheme
Church leaders have joined the campaign to end fox-hunting.
3

go to somebody

[transitive] to go somewhere in order to be with someone or do something with them:
She joined her aunt in the sitting room.
The immigrants were soon joined by their wives and children.
! Do not say 'join with' someone. Join is followed by a direct object: Will you join me?
4

do something together

[intransitive and transitive] to do something together with someone else, or as a group
join somebody for something
I invited them to join us for a glass of wine.
join (with) somebody in doing something
I'm sure you'll all join me in thanking today's speaker.
join (with) somebody to do something
Parents have joined with health experts to produce a video for bereaved families.
join together
Three police forces have joined together to buy a helicopter.
5

connect

a) [transitive] to connect or fasten things together:
Join the two pieces of wood with strong glue.
join something to something
The island is joined to the mainland by a causeway.
b) [intransitive and transitive] if two roads, rivers etc join, they come together and become connected at a particular point:
Finally we arrived at Dartmouth, where the River Dart joins the sea.
the point where the two roads join
6

join a queue

to go and stand at the end of a line of people:
He went in and joined the queue for the toilets.
7

join hands

if people join hands, they hold each other's hands:
They joined hands and danced round and round.
8

join the club

spoken used to say that you and a lot of other people are in the same situation:
'I'm having difficulty knowing what today's debate is about.' 'Join the club, Geoffrey.'
9

join battle

formal to begin fighting
11

be joined at the hip

informal if two people are joined at the hip, they are always together and are very friendly - often used to show disapproval

➔ join/combine forces

at force1 (10)

; ➔ if you can't beat 'em, join 'em

at beat1 (23)

join in (something)

phrasal verb
to take part in something that a group of people are doing or that someone else does:
In the evening there was a barbecue, with the whole village joining in the fun.
He stared at them without joining in the conversation.
He laughed loudly, and Mattie joined in.

join up

phrasal verb
1 to become a member of the army, navy, or air force
2 British English to connect things, or to become connected
join something ↔ up
The dots are joined up by a line.

join up with somebody/something

phrasal verb
to combine with or meet other people in order to do something:
Three months ago, they joined up with another big company that sells arms.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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