Meaning of ally in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Verb
    1. Definitions
  3. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    US accent

    UK accent

  1. Verb

    ally

    Definitions

    1. become an ally or associate, as by a treaty or marriage

    Examples

    • « He allied himself with the Communists »

    Derived terms

  2. Noun

    ally

    Etymology

    Middle English (as a verb): from Old French alier, from Latin alligare‘bind together’, from ad-‘to’ + ligare‘to bind’; the noun is partly via Old French alie‘allied’. Compare with alloy

    Definitions

    1. a friendly nation
  3. 2. an associate who provides assistance

    Examples

    • « he's a good ally in fight »
    • « they were friends of the workers »

    Antonyms

Famous quotes

  • « Hamas, also elected to governmental leadership in Palestine, includes the jihadists, people who have declared war on the United States of America and its ally, Israel. »
    Zach Wamp
  • « The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism. »
    Reinhold Niebuhr
  • « Learning is the ally, not the adversary of genius... he who reads in a proper spirit, can scarcely read too much. »
    William Godwin
  • « The USDA is not our ally here. We have to take matters into our own hands, not only by advocating for a better diet for everyone - and that's the hard part - but by improving our own. And that happens to be quite easy. Less meat, less junk, more plants. »
    Mark Bittman
  • « For so long as the Jew has even one ally, he will be convinced - in his smallness of mind - that his salvation came from that ally. It is only when he is alone - against all of his own efforts and frantic attempts - that he will, through no choice, be compelled to turn to G-d. »
    Meir Kahane

Browse dictionary