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to arrange in a straight line; adjust according to a line.
to bring into a line or .
to bring into cooperation or agreement with a particular group, party, cause, etc.:
he aligned himself with the liberals.
to adjust (two or more components of an electronic circuit) to improve the response over a frequency band, as to align the tuned circuits of a radio receiver for proper tracking throughout its frequency range, or a television receiver for appropriate wide-band responses.
to fall or come into line; be in line.
to join with others in a cause.
contemporary examples

also, throughout the series, montalbán has fun by having carvalho align himself to fictional role models.
the foodie detective: the pepe carvalho novels by manuel vázquez montalbán malcolm forbes october 2, 2012

in the wake of this, russia might align itself with the united states for strong u.n. sanctions against iran.
iran nuke deal details michael adler september 30, 2009

a bejeweled baseball hat as far as hats go, j. crew has been known to align itself with knit beanies.
j. crew’s best accessories from fall 2013 misty white sidell february 12, 2013

and he has been happy to align himself with other campaigns.
stephen hawking 70th-birthday salute martin rees january 7, 2012

and if you really believe that s-xual repression is a toxic element in our politics, why align yourself with the gop?
why is shmuley boteach running for congress as a republican? mich-lle goldberg march 22, 2012

historical examples

detail out this afternoon staking out the ground to align the batteries.
an artilleryman’s diary jenkin lloyd jones

these have been kept in the html version to align the page numbers.
scottish ghost stories elliott o’donnell

the national parties were quick to align themselves on this platform.
robert toombs pleasant a. stovall

it had become natural to us in the cabin to align ourselves on one side or the other.
the great quest charles boardman hawes

well, he should align the girls’ irrigating ditch and then go about his business.
the iron furrow george c. shedd

verb
to place or become placed in a line
to bring (components or parts, such as the wheels of a car) into proper or desirable coordination or relation
(transitive) usually foll by with. to bring (a person, country, etc) into agreement or cooperation with the policy, etc of another person or group
(transitive) (psychol) to integrate or harmonize the aims, practices, etc of a group
(usually foll by with) (psychol) to identify with or match the behaviour, thoughts, etc of another person
v.

early 15c., “to copulate” (of wolves, dogs), literally “to range (things) in a line,” from middle french aligner, from old french alignier “set, lay in line,” from à “to” (see ad-) + lignier “to line,” from latin lineare, from linea (see line (n.)). transitive or reflective sense of “to fall into line” is from 1853. international political sense is attested from 1934. no justification for the french spelling, and aline was an early native form. related: aligned; aligning.