Library / English Dictionary

ORIENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The hemisphere that includes Eurasia and Africa and Australia

Synonyms:

eastern hemisphere; orient

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

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

hemisphere (half of the terrestrial globe)

Meronyms (parts of "orient"):

Old World (the regions of the world that were known to Europeans before the discovery of the Americas)

Africa (the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean)

Australia (the smallest continent; between the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean)

Eurasia (the land mass formed by the continents of Europe and Asia)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The countries of Asia

Synonyms:

East; Orient

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Instance hypernyms:

Asia (the nations of the Asian continent collectively)

Meronyms (parts of "Orient"):

Far East (a popular expression for the countries of eastern Asia (usually including China and Mongolia and Taiwan and Japan and Korea and Indochina and eastern Siberia))

Attribute:

eastern (relating to or characteristic of regions of eastern parts of the world)

Derivation:

oriental (denoting or characteristic of countries of the Far East)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Adjust to a specific need or market

Example:

tailor your needs to your surroundings

Synonyms:

orient; tailor

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

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

accommodate; adapt (make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Familiarize (someone) with new surroundings or circumstances

Example:

The dean of students tries to orient the freshmen

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

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

acquaint; familiarise; familiarize (make familiar or conversant with)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

Determine one's position with reference to another point

Example:

We had to orient ourselves in the forest

Synonyms:

orient; orientate

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

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

decide; determine; make up one's mind (reach, make, or come to a decision about something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "orient"):

guide; guide on (use as a guide)

reorient; reorientate (orient once again, after a disorientation)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Antonym:

disorient (cause to be lost or disoriented)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Cause to point

Example:

Orient the house towards the West

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

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

position (cause to be in an appropriate place, state, or relation)

Cause:

orient; point (be oriented)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "orient"):

stem (cause to point inward)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 5

Meaning:

Be oriented

Example:

the dancers toes pointed outward

Synonyms:

orient; point

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

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

lie (be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position)

Sentence frame:

Something is ----ing PP

Credits

 Context examples: 

The polymerization of actin to drive cell movement also involves branching of actin filaments into a network oriented with the growing ends of the fibers near the cell membrane.

(Actin Branching Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

To support the career development of investigators who have made a commitment to focus their research endeavors on patient-oriented research.

(Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award, NCI Thesaurus)

When oval the nuclei are oriented perpendicular to the basement membrane.

(Mouse Pancreatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia-1A, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

Issue associated with a circuit, equipment, or system whereby its functions fail to be properly synchronized or its relative positions properly oriented.

(Failure to Align Medical Device Problem, Food and Drug Administration)

A histologic hallmark of this tumor is the 'specific glioneuronal element', characterized by columns, made up of bundles of axons, oriented perpendicularly to the cortical surface.

(Dysembryoplastic Neuroepithelial Tumor, NCI Thesaurus/Adapted from WHO)

This internal compass can help orient animals who live in a complex, dynamic three-dimensional habitat,” said Mike Sieracki, a program director in NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences.

(North Atlantic haddock use magnetic compass to guide them, National Science Foundation)

It applies to clinicians who are pursuing basic science careers; clinicians who are pursuing careers in patient-oriented research; and to individuals pursuing careers in the prevention, control and population sciences.

(Career Transition Award, NCI Thesaurus)

Mechanism to fund single project applications in patient oriented or basic research near the payline and for which reviewer criticisms can be addressed quickly.

(Accelerated Executive Review, NCI Thesaurus)

Unlike Earth, the spin axes of Mercury and the Moon are oriented such that, in their polar regions, the Sun never rises high above the horizon.

(The Moon and Mercury May Have Thick Ice Deposits, NASA)

The spacecraft, which has been flying for 40 years, relies on small devices called thrusters to orient itself so it can communicate with Earth.

(Voyager 1 Fires Up Thrusters After 37 Years, NASA)