arrange
- 01 A2 Elementary
to put things in a neat or attractive order.
to place objects in a specific, orderly, or aesthetic sequence.
Simple“She helped her mother arrange the flowers in a tall glass vase.”
In context“The librarian spent the afternoon arranging the rare manuscripts by date of publication to assist the visiting researchers.”
- 02 A2 Elementary
to plan or prepare something in advance.
to make preparations or plans for a future event or meeting.
Simple“We need to arrange a time to talk about the project.”
In context“The travel agent arranged a complex itinerary that included three different countries and several guided tours.”
PitfallI arranged for meet him at the station. I arranged to meet him at the station.When followed by another verb, use the infinitive with 'to'.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
to change a piece of music so it can be played by different instruments or voices.
to adapt a musical composition for a different medium, instrument, or ensemble than originally intended.
Simple“The conductor had to arrange the piano piece for a full orchestra.”
In context“The composer was commissioned to arrange several traditional folk songs for a modern jazz quartet.”
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Old French a- Proto-Indo-European *(H)rek-der. Proto-Celtic *reketi Gaulish *rekosbor. Vulgar Latin *rencus Old French reng Proto-Italic *-āzi ▲ Latin -ereinflu. Latin -āre Old French -ier Old French rengier Old French arangierbor. Middle English arengen English arrange Inherited from Middle English arengen, arrangen (“to draw up a battle line”), borrowed from Old French arengier, arangier (“to put in a line, put in a row”), derived from reng, rang, ranc (“line, row, rank”), from Frankish hring (“ring”), from Proto-Germanic hringaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)krengʰ-, a form of Proto-Indo-European (s)ker- (“to turn, bend”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.