relate to (someone or something)
(redirected from relates to something)relate to (someone or something)
To associate oneself with someone or something; to feel a sense of kinship with or similarity to someone or something. Having grown up in quite a poor household, I could really relate to the character's struggle to find financial success. I'm worried that my son doesn't seem to relate to any of the kids in his class.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2026 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
relate something to someone
to tell something to someone; to narrate something to someone. Very slowly, she related the events of the past week to her parents. I have an interesting story to relate to you.
relate something to something
to associate something to something. I relate this particular problem to the failure of the company to provide proper training. This point is related to what I just told you.
relate to someone or something
to understand, accept, or feel kinship with someone or something. He relates to people well. I really don't relate to your thinking at all.
*related to someone
connected through blood kinship or through marriage to someone. (*Typically: be ~; become ~.) I wonder if he is related to you, because he looks a little like you. I am not related to anyone here.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
relate to
v.
1. To have a connection, relation, or reference to something: My question relates to your earlier work.
2. To establish a connection, relation, or reference between one thing and another: She related the painful experience to having a tooth pulled at the dentist.
3. To narrate or relay some information to someone; tell something to someone: When he related the story to us, he left out the part about himself.
4. To have or establish a reciprocal relationship with someone; interact with someone: Your child seems to relate well to her peers.
5. To empathize or identify with someone or something: I simply can't relate to such an extreme viewpoint.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.