i·den·ti·fy (?-d?n?t?-f??) v. i·den·ti·fied, i·den·ti·fy·ing, i·den·ti·fies v. tr. 1. a. To establish or recognize the identity of; ascertain as a certain person or thing: Can you identify what kind of plane that is? I identified the man at the next table as a famous actor. b. Biology To determine the taxonomic classification of (an organism). c. To ascertain as having a certain characteristic or feature: job candidates who are identified as overqualified; children who have been identified with hearing loss. 2. To consider as identical or united; equate: The Greek god Ares is identified with the Roman god Mars. 3. To associate or affiliate closely with: writers who are identified with modernism. v. intr. 1. To consider oneself as sharing certain characteristics or attitudes as another: She identifies strongly with her grandmother. 2. To associate oneself with or admire something, such as a set of ideas: a language learner who identifies with a new culture. 3. To believe or assert that one belongs to a certain group or class: She identifies as a libertarian. He identifies as bisexual. [Medieval Latin identific?re, to make to resemble : Late Latin identit?s, identity; see identity + Latin -fic?re, -fy.] i·den?ti·fi?a·ble adj. i·den?ti·fi?a·bly adv. i·den?ti·fi?er n. American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.identifier (a??d?nt??fa??) na person or thing that establishes the identity of someone or somethingCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014