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join

/dʒɔɪn//dʒɔɪn/·verb
to connect two things directly, or to become a member of a group
Fig. 1 — I watch two short chains hanging with a gap between their inner links.
01Definition

To join is to connect two things directly, or to become part of a group — join two pipes end to end, join a club, join hands. From the Latin iungere, 'to yoke'. At its simplest it makes one continuous thing out of two: where two roads meet, they can be joined into a single route. With people it means to enter or take up with — you join a team, join the queue, join forces. Unlike things that merge into one body, joined parts keep their own ends; they are linked, not dissolved.

02In use
  • iA short weld joins the two rails into one continuous track.
  • iiShe joined the debating society in her first week.
  • iiiThe two guerrilla bands joined forces against the common enemy.
03Collocations
  • join a club
  • join forces
  • join in
  • join up
  • join together

Family joint (noun) · joinery (noun) · joined (past tense)

04Relations

=connect, link, unite, combine, merge

≠separate, split, part

05Compared
PairThe difference
join vs amalgamatemerge several organizations into one formal whole → amalgamate; connect two things directly, or become a member of a group → join.
join vs assemblefit many parts into one whole, or gather in one place → assemble; connect two things directly, or become a member → join.
join vs blendmix things into one seamless whole where the parts vanish → blend; connect two things directly, or become a member of a group → join.
join vs clustergather many things into a tight, dense bunch by nearness → cluster; connect two things directly, or become a member → join.
join vs coalescelet separate things grow together into one where the parts merge → coalesce; connect two things directly, or become a member of a group → join.

Also compared with combine, come together, congregate, consolidate, disband, disperse, dissipate, dissolve, diverge, divide, fuse, gather, integrate, merge, scatter, separate, split, unite

06TOEFL & IELTS

Two traps. First, join is normally transitive with no preposition — you join a club, join the army, join us — so 'join in a club' is wrong; the prepositions add senses (join in = take part; join up = enlist; join with = act together). Second, don't confuse the verb join with the noun or adjective joint (a knee joint, a joint account). The past tense is regular: joined.

07Asked
What is the difference between 'join' and 'joint'?
Join is the verb — to connect, or to become a member ('join the club', 'join the two wires'). Joint is the noun or adjective — the place where two things meet (a knee joint, a pipe joint) or something shared (a joint account, a joint effort). A common slip is writing 'I want to joint the course'; the verb is always join.
What is the difference between 'join in', 'join up', and 'join with'?
Three separate meanings. Join in = take part in something already happening ('the crowd joined in the song'). Join up = enlist in the armed forces, or team up with someone. Join with = combine or act together with another ('the council joined with local charities'). Plain join, with no particle, just means connect or become a member.
Do you say 'join a club' or 'join in a club'?
Join a club — join is transitive and normally takes no preposition: join the army, join the queue, join us. Adding 'in' changes the meaning to taking part in an activity, not becoming a member, so 'join in a club' is wrong for membership. Over-inserting a preposition after join is one of the most common learner errors.
What is the difference between join, participate, and attend?
A useful register ladder. Join = become part of a group, with a sense of membership or commitment. Participate (or take part) = actively contribute to an activity. Attend = simply be present, and is the most formal. You join a society, participate in the discussion, and attend the lecture — three different levels of involvement.
What does 'join forces' mean?
To combine your effort or resources with someone else's to achieve something together — 'the two firms joined forces to bid for the contract'. It is a set idiom, useful in Task 2 writing about cooperation, and it keeps the core of the word: two separate parties linked into one effort for as long as the goal lasts.
What is the difference between join and connect?
Join tends to bring two things physically together, or to make you a member of a group — the two chains are joined into one unbroken run in the scene above. Connect is broader: it sets up a link or relationship between things that stay separate — connect two towns by rail, connect an idea to its cause. Joined things touch; connected things are linked.