verb

orient

AW-rih-uhnt

verb

To figure out your position or direction, or to position something to face a certain way.

"She used the stars to orient herself in the dark forest."

"The building was oriented so its windows caught the morning sun."

To introduce someone to a new situation or familiarize them with it.

"New employees spend their first day being oriented to company policy."

noun

The east, or the direction where the sun rises (a more literary/formal usage).

"The poem describes light spreading from the orient at dawn."

How to Use Orient

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo find your bearings or position something/someone correctly — literally (compass directions) or figuratively (getting used to a new situation).

Common mistake

"Orientate" means the same thing and is common in British English, but "orient" is shorter and preferred in most style guides.

Easily confused with

orientate

Common pairings

orient yourself orient toward newly oriented employees

Word Forms

oriented past tense, orients plural, Orients plural, orients singular

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

She used the stars to _____ herself in the dark forest.

Etymology

From Latin oriens, "rising" — the present participle of orior, "to rise" — since the sun rises in the east, "orient" came to mean both "east" and, as a verb, "to figure out which way you're facing."

Rhymes for orient

ancient patient salient ambient lenient obedient nutrient gradient sentient impatient transient recipient

See all rhymes for orient →