alignment

American  

[uh-lahyn-muhnt] / əˈlaɪn mənt /

Also alinement

noun

• alignments
  plural

1. an adjustment to a line; arrangement in a straight line.

2. the line or lines so formed.

3. the proper adjustment of the components of an electronic circuit, machine, etc., for coordinated functioning.

   The front wheels of the car are out of alignment.

4. a state of agreement or cooperation among persons, groups, nations, etc., with a common cause or viewpoint.

5. a ground plan of a railroad or highway.

6. Archaeology. a line or an arrangement of parallel or converging lines of upright stones or menhirs.

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alignment British  

/ əˈlaɪnmənt /

noun

1. arrangement in a straight line

2. the line or lines formed in this manner

3. alliance or union with a party, cause, etc

4. proper or desirable coordination or relation of components

5. a ground plan of a railway, motor road, etc

6. archaeol an arrangement of one or more ancient rows of standing stones, of uncertain significance

7. psychol integration or harmonization of aims, practices, etc within a group

8. psychol identification with or matching of the behaviour, thoughts, etc of another person

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonalinement
  noun
• realignment
  noun
• self-alignment
  noun
• self-alinement
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• alignments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of alignment

First recorded in 1780–90; align + -ment; replacing earlier alignement, from French

Explanation

The noun alignment refers to the correct positioning of something. If you check the alignment of your feet when running, you're checking to make sure they're not pointing to either side, but going straight ahead. Alignment has to do with adjusting something so it's in the right place. If you take your car in for a wheel alignment, the mechanic will make sure the wheels are on straight. Alignment can also mean following directions or being in agreement. Your school has to act in alignment with state education rules. If you and your brother both believe that poodles should be banned in your town, then you are in alignment on the issue of poodles.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alignment alignments

I think that alignment between him, Esta and Sango is special.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

Sometimes it misses grief, trauma, a broken relationship, poor sleep or a life lived out of alignment.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

While GPT-6.1 Astra improved in areas such as “model laziness,” Jain said it didn’t quite meet OpenAI’s bar for safety and alignment, so the company decided not to launch the model publicly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Several Anthropic researchers who spent time at Constellation were on the company’s alignment team, which researched how to keep AI models aligned with human values.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

Some alleged calendrical devices may just possibly be due to chance—an accidental alignment of window and niche on June 21, say.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Wielding a pocket Allen wrench, her colleague Estefany Rodriguez adjusted seat heights and brake handle alignments on Vivian’s new ride.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

Few details of Vance's programme have been disclosed, but the visit comes as Washington seeks a larger diplomatic and economic footprint in the South Caucasus amid shifting regional alignments.

From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026

The discovery may also help refine models of intrinsic galaxy alignments, which can interfere with measurements in upcoming weak lensing surveys.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 25, 2025

He reshuffled diplomatic alignments to buy time, giving the U.S. a stronger position by the following decade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025

Such statistical alignments must happen by chance every now and then.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• adjustment