adjoin
Americanverb (used with object)
-
adjoins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
adjoined,
past participle, past
-
adjoining
present participle
-
to be close to or in contact with; abut on.
His property adjoins the lake.
-
to attach or append; affix.
verb (used without object)
-
adjoins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
adjoined,
past participle, past
-
adjoining
present participle
verb
-
to be next to (an area of land, etc)
-
to join; affix or attach
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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adjoinsimple
-
adjoinssimple
-
have adjoinedperfect
-
has adjoinedperfect
-
am adjoiningprogressive
-
are adjoiningprogressive
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is adjoiningprogressive
-
have been adjoiningperfect progressive
-
has been adjoiningperfect progressive
Past
-
adjoinedsimple
-
had adjoinedperfect
-
was adjoiningprogressive
-
were adjoiningprogressive
-
had been adjoiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of adjoin
1275–1325; Middle English a ( d ) joinen < Middle French ajoindre. See ad-, join
Explanation
Things that adjoin are next to each other or share a boundary. Two adjoining states are neighbors. The United States adjoins Canada. Just as the word join suggests togetherness, things that adjoin are together in a specific way. They're adjacent, which means they're butting right up against one other. Two adjoining buildings are connected or next-door neighbors. Two adjoining states share a border. If two rooms adjoin, they are connected by a door or they share a wall. When things adjoin, they have a physical connection.
Vocabulary lists containing adjoin
Close Encounters: Synonyms for "Near"
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The Dawes Act
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The Marrow Thieves
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Both areas adjoin waste land leading to the entrance to the tunnel system where Noah's body was found.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
About 20% are protected nature areas, like the mountains covered with pine and fir forests that adjoin the neighboring state of Morelos.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 27, 2023
Land buyers will pay premium prices, depending upon a variety of circumstances, such as special financing, tax advantages, or a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to purchase parcels that adjoin their farms or ranches.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 12, 2016
Their priority continues to be preventing the fire from leaping out of the park’s boundaries and into the small communities that adjoin its western edge.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2016
This 'dining hall' where I now sit, however, is a modem annexe built to adjoin the main building - a long, flat room characterized by rows of large windows on either side.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
One woman suffered injuries in the Gorkha district, which adjoins Dhading, when she jumped from a two-story building, Parajuli said.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 22, 2023
The result expands the scope of Americana at a moment when that roots-oriented genre — and the larger country-music realm it adjoins — are facing complicated questions about representation and inclusion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
The Barents Sea, which adjoins the Arctic Ocean, is one of the most productive oceanic areas in the world and home to an enormous diversity of organisms.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2023
Subject to a ruling to the contrary from next month's tribunal panel, Reuben will attend a mainstream primary that adjoins the special school.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2023
The jail contains six cells; the sixth, the one reserved for female prisoners, is actually an isolated unit situated inside the Sheriff’s Residence—indeed, it adjoins the Meiers’ kitchen.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
If data centers occupy the caverns, any improper water management or heat discharge could quickly become an immediate risk to adjoined residential neighborhoods.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2023
A few years later, Pfeiffer designed an adjacent student housing tower and adjoined the two facilities with a courtyard and dining commons envisioned as an open-air campus amid skyscrapers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2023
Staff members earlier took her belongings from her previous desk, which had adjoined those of other veteran House Democratics.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 4, 2023
So I went to my room, that adjoined Father’s, and wasted time on my phone screen, and thought how I could be doing this at home, and fell asleep.
From Slate ● Dec. 29, 2020
It was lucky that the owners of the two farms which adjoined Animal Farm were on permanently bad terms.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
The adjoining barn on the property was transformed into a guesthouse, and Seyfried has focused on passing on her love for animals to her two children: Nina, 8, and Thomas, 5.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
In the adjoining Avila region a little further west, another inferno raging since last week has become the biggest since Spain's records began in 1961, burning 50,000 hectares.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Three indoor privies were lighted by skylights and ingeniously ventilated by a 150-foot-long lateral tunnel that drew in air and discharged it through adjoining chimneys, providing a continuous draft.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
The company spent £500,000 creating the pub and adjoining off-license, hiring eight additional staff members.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
I had not just a closet but a spacious dressing room adjoining it—the same room from which Laura Bush had shown me the Rose Garden view.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
