orient

CEFRC1

/ˈɔː.ɹɪˌɛnt/

verb · name · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To help someone become familiar with a place or situation.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    A pearl originating from the Indian region, reputed to be of great brilliance; (by extension) any pearl of particular beauty and value.

Examples

  • He was interested in the mysteries of the Orient.

  • Polar bears can orient by day to the sun.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
3
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈɔɹ.i.ənt/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meaning

  1. The part of the horizon where the sun first appears in the morning; the east.

name

Extra meaning

  1. Usually preceded by the: alternative letter-case form of Orient (“a region or a part of the world to the east of a certain place; countries of Asia, the East (especially East Asia)”)

noun

Extra meaning

  1. The brilliance or colour of a high-quality pearl.

More examples

In context

  • The map helped me to orient myself.

  • Give him time to orient himself within the new hierarchy.

  • Let me just orient myself and we can be on our way.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The map helps hikers blank themselves by finding north.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

The noun is derived from Middle English orient, oriente, oryent, oryente, oryentte (“the east direction; eastern horizon or sky; eastern regions of the world, Asia, Orient; eastern edge of the world”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman orient, oriente, and Old French orient (“east direction; Asia, Orient”) (modern French orient), or directly from its etymon Latin oriēns (“the east; daybreak, dawn; sunrise; (participle) rising; appearing; originating”), present active participle of orior (“to get up, rise; to appear, become visible; to be born, come to exist, originate”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to move, stir; to rise, spring”). The adjective is derived from Middle English orient (“easter...