PARTNER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does partner mean? 

• PARTNER (noun)
  The noun PARTNER has 3 senses:

1. a person's partner in marriage

2. an associate in an activity or endeavor or sphere of common interest

3. a person who is a member of a partnership

  Familiarity information: PARTNER used as a noun is uncommon.

• PARTNER (verb)
  The verb PARTNER has 2 senses:

1. provide with a partner

2. act as a partner

  Familiarity information: PARTNER used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PARTNER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A person's partner in marriage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

better half; married person; mate; partner; spouse

Hypernyms ("partner" is a kind of...):

domestic partner; significant other; spousal equivalent; spouse equivalent (a person (not necessarily a spouse) with whom you cohabit and share a long-term sexual relationship)

relation; relative (a person related by blood or marriage)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "partner"):

bigamist (someone who marries one person while already legally married to another)

consort (the husband or wife of a reigning monarch)

helpmate; helpmeet (a helpful partner)

hubby; husband; married man (a married man; a woman's partner in marriage)

monogamist; monogynist (someone who practices monogamy (one spouse at a time))

honeymooner; newlywed (someone recently married)

polygamist (someone who is married to two or more people at the same time)

married woman; wife (a married woman; a man's partner in marriage)

Holonyms ("partner" is a member of...):

man and wife; marriage; married couple (two people who are married to each other)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An associate in an activity or endeavor or sphere of common interest

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

collaborator; cooperator; pardner; partner

Context example:

sexual partners

Hypernyms ("partner" is a kind of...):

associate (a person who joins with others in some activity or endeavor)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "partner"):

bridge partner (one of a pair of bridge players who are on the same side of the game)

dancing partner (one of a pair of people who dance together)

Derivation:

partner (act as a partner)

partnership (a contract between two or more persons who agree to pool talent and money and share profits or losses)

partnership (the members of a business venture created by contract)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A person who is a member of a partnership

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("partner" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "partner"):

copartner (a joint partner (as in a business enterprise))

silent partner; sleeping partner (a partner (who usually provides capital) whose association with the enterprise is not public knowledge)

Holonyms ("partner" is a member of...):

partnership (the members of a business venture created by contract)

Derivation:

partnership (a contract between two or more persons who agree to pool talent and money and share profits or losses)

partnership (the members of a business venture created by contract)

• PARTNER (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they partner    ... he / she / it partners   
Past simple: partnered   
Past participle: partnered   
-ing form: partnering   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Provide with a partner

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "partner" is one way to...):

furnish; provide; render; supply (give something useful or necessary to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Act as a partner

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

Astaire partnered Rogers

Hypernyms (to "partner" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

partner (an associate in an activity or endeavor or sphere of common interest)

 Context examples 

“And now they are partners,” said I. “Confound him!”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I am so sorry she has not had a partner!

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Henry made no reply, and plodded on alone, though often he cast anxious glances back into the grey solitude where his partner had disappeared.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

A molecular interaction between a ligand molecule and a receptor molecule, where the ligand and receptor are not conventional partners.

(Cross Reaction, NCI Thesaurus)

Dr. Watson is my friend and partner.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A standard survey tool for assessing the resolution of conflict between intimate partners.

(Conflicts Tactics Scale 2, NCI Thesaurus)

Sometimes you may have to talk over touchy matters, where you and your partner are strongly wedded to your respective, opposite positions.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis (FAMS) Additional Concerns: I feel close to my partner (or the person who is my main support).

(FAMS - Feel Close to My Partner, NCI Thesaurus)

A question about whether a person feels or felt close with their partner or main support person.

(Feel Close to Partner, NCI Thesaurus)

The balance of these three competing MLH1 partners might be important in the repair of mismatches in DNA.

(DNA Mismatch Repair Protein MLH3, NCI Thesaurus)