associate oneself with

associate with

1. To have a relationship with someone. In this usage, a reflexive pronoun can be used between "associate" and "with." I don't associate with criminals like him. I think he's happy to associate himself with successful people like us. Here at this company, we don't associate with known liars, thank you very much!

2. To connect various people or things in one's mind, usually for a specific reason that is unique to that person. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "associate" and "with." I associate the smell of cinnamon with Christmas because of the cookies my mother used to bake every year. He always associates Liz with me because he met us at the same time. I associate that song with my best friend from high school because we would always blast it in her car on the way to the mall.

See also: associate

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

associate oneself with someone or something

to join someone or something as a partner or friend. I wanted to associate myself with a prestigious law firm. She associated herself with people of low repute.

See also: associate

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.