relate to (someone or something)

relate to (someone or something)

To associate oneself with someone or something; to feel a sense of kinship with or similarity to someone or something. Having grown up in quite a poor household, I could really relate to the character's struggle to find financial success. I'm worried that my son doesn't seem to relate to any of the kids in his class.

See also: relate, to

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

relate something to someone

to tell something to someone; to narrate something to someone. Very slowly, she related the events of the past week to her parents. I have an interesting story to relate to you.

See also: relate, to

relate something to something

to associate something to something. I relate this particular problem to the failure of the company to provide proper training. This point is related to what I just told you.

See also: relate, to

relate to someone or something

to understand, accept, or feel kinship with someone or something. He relates to people well. I really don't relate to your thinking at all.

See also: relate, to

*related to someone

connected through blood kinship or through marriage to someone. (*Typically: be ~; become ~.) I wonder if he is related to you, because he looks a little like you. I am not related to anyone here.

See also: related, to

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

relate to

v.

1. To have a connection, relation, or reference to something: My question relates to your earlier work.

2. To establish a connection, relation, or reference between one thing and another: She related the painful experience to having a tooth pulled at the dentist.

3. To narrate or relay some information to someone; tell something to someone: When he related the story to us, he left out the part about himself.

4. To have or establish a reciprocal relationship with someone; interact with someone: Your child seems to relate well to her peers.

5. To empathize or identify with someone or something: I simply can't relate to such an extreme viewpoint.

See also: relate, to

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.