Relevant Definition & Meaning

American

British

Pronunciation

Related Words

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms relevant American [rel-uh-vuhnt] / ˈrɛl ə vənt /

adjective

1. bearing upon or connected with the matter in hand; pertinent.

   a relevant remark.

   Synonyms: fitting, suitable, appropriate, apposite, germane, applicable

relevant British / ˈrɛlɪvənt /

adjective

1. having direct bearing on the matter in hand; pertinent

2. linguistics another word for distinctive

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Pronunciation

See irrelevant.

Related Words

See apt.

Other Word Forms

• nonrelevant adjective
• relevance noun
• relevancy noun
• relevantly adverb
• unrelevant adjective
• unrelevantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of relevant

First recorded in 1550–60; from Medieval Latin relevant-, stem of relevāns, special use of Latin present participle of relevāre “to raise, lift up”; relieve ( def. ), -ant ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As electric vehicle makers struggle to remain relevant, a new competitor is about to hit California’s roads.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s only relevant when they reflect or encourage speculative buying.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Cambridge University team found just seven relevant studies worldwide, none of which focused on the toddlers themselves.

From BBC

However, the metric blew past analysts’ low expectations, and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said Bumble was adding AI tools to help users find more relevant matches.

From Barron's

Tesla Motors, a separate company incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in 2020, though Ofgem said that permit wasn’t relevant to Tesla Energy Ventures’ application to supply electricity.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• admissible
• applicable
• compatible
• consistent
• germane
• important
• pertinent
• proper
• related
• significant
• suitable
• suited

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.