date
1 Americannoun
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a particular month, day, and year at which some event happened or will happen.
July 4, 1776 was the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
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the day of the month.
Is today's date the 7th or the 8th?
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an inscription on a writing, coin, etc., that shows the time, or time and place, of writing, casting, delivery, etc..
a letter bearing the date January 16.
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the time or period to which any event or thing belongs; period in general.
Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.
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the time during which anything lasts; duration.
The pity is that childhood has so short a date.
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an appointment for a particular time.
They have a date with their accountant at ten o'clock.
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a social appointment or engagement arranged beforehand with another person, especially when a romantic relationship exists or may develop.
to go out on a Saturday night date.
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a person with whom one has such a social appointment or engagement.
Can I bring a date to the party?
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an engagement for an entertainer to perform.
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dates, the birth and death dates, usually in years, of a person.
Dante's dates are 1265 to 1321.
verb (used without object)
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dates,
present (3rd person singular)
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dated,
past participle, past
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dating
present participle
-
to have or bear a date.
The letter dates from 1873.
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to belong to a particular period; have its origin.
That dress dates from the 19th century. The architecture dates as far back as 1830.
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to reckon from some point in time.
The custom dates from the days when women wore longer skirts.
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to go out socially on dates.
She dated a lot during high school.
verb (used with object)
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dates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dated,
past participle, past
-
dating
present participle
-
to mark or furnish with a date.
Please date the check as of today.
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to ascertain or fix the period or point in time of; assign a period or point in time to.
The archaeologist dated the ruins as belonging to the early Minoan period.
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to show the age of; show to be old-fashioned.
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to make a date with; go out on dates with.
He's been dating his best friend's sister.
idioms
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to date, up to the present time; until now.
This is his best book to date.
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up to date. see up-to-date.
noun
noun
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a specified day of the month
today's date is October 27
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the particular day or year of an event
the date of the Norman Conquest was 1066
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(plural) the years of a person's birth and death or of the beginning and end of an event or period
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an inscription on a coin, letter, etc, stating when it was made or written
-
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an appointment for a particular time, esp with a person to whom one is sexually or romantically attached
she has a dinner date
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the person with whom the appointment is made
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the present moment; now (esp in the phrases to date, up to date )
verb
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(tr) to mark (a letter, coin, etc) with the day, month, or year
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(tr) to assign a date of occurrence or creation to
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(intr; foll by from or back to) to have originated (at a specified time)
his decline dates from last summer
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(tr) to reveal the age of
that dress dates her
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to make or become old-fashioned
some good films hardly date at all
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informal
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to be a boyfriend or girlfriend of (someone of the opposite sex)
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to accompany (a member of the opposite sex) on a date
-
noun
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the fruit of the date palm, having sweet edible flesh and a single large woody seed
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short for date palm
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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datablenessnoun
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dateablenessnoun
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daternoun
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datableadjective
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dateableadjective
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datelessadjective
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undatableadjective
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undateableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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datesimple
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datessimple
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have datedperfect
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has datedperfect
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am datingprogressive
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are datingprogressive
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is datingprogressive
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have been datingperfect progressive
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has been datingperfect progressive
Past
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datedsimple
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had datedperfect
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was datingprogressive
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were datingprogressive
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had been datingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of date1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English noun from Middle French, from Late Latin data, noun use of data (feminine of datus, past participle of dare “to give”), from the phrase data (Romae) “written, given (at Rome)”; Middle English verb daten “to sign or date a document,” derivative of the noun
Origin of date2
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French dade, date, from Medieval Latin datil(l)us, from Latin dactylus, from Greek dáktylos, from a Semitic language (and unrelated to Greek dáktylos “finger; dactyl )
Explanation
A date is a particular day of the month, and to date is to go out with someone. You might have the date of your first date with a special someone marked on your calendar. Awwwwwwww. Date comes from the Latin datus, "given," because in ancient Rome when people wrote letters or decrees, they'd say, "given ("data") May 1st" (for example). Date can mean a day of each year, like May 1st, or one historical day, like May 1st, 1873. You make a date to meet someone for dinner. You date your letter. If you make many appointments with one special lady, you're dating her. A date is also a fruit, from the date palm.
Vocabulary lists containing date
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.
See Examples For:
The most up to date statistics show that just 12,338 offenders were sent back to jail for breaching their terms between April and June.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
Shares are up 2.5% at 444.70 pence and 7.3% higher over the year to date.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
"Together, these animals formed the Paja Biota, one of the most ecologically complex marine communities found to date."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2026
These can be personalized with a pet’s name, date and other symbols.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
We sat at my favorite picnic table, the one where my grandparents had their own first date fifty years ago.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
As a result, lockup expiration dates have “largely proved to be a non-event” for SpaceX investors, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in a client note last month.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026
SpaceX shares held by most insiders have been subject to a rolling process that has unlocked certain portions of their stock at set dates.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026
DOL regulations require employers that use the H-2A guest-worker visa program to specify in worker contracts the dates of employment, wage deductions and non-monetary benefits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026
His determination will be put to the test next year, when U2 embark on a massive international stadium tour, including two UK dates at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next June.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
“Can you tell us which dates are available?”
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
In a reply, dated 2 November, Brittin responded that "the BBC takes its obligations to Wales extremely seriously".
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
But now, that stuff seems dated and out of touch.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
Revenue per worker and profit margins are rising for the so-called Magnificent Seven tech companies but have remained flat for the rest of the S&P 500 members, Slok said in a note dated Saturday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
The 709 BCE event is regarded as the earliest explicit written record of a total solar eclipse that can be securely dated.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
One of the letters dated 1952 had a postal code on it that didn’t exist until twenty years later.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
“The thought of dating him never crossed my mind. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I kind of looked at him in a different way.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
Caprez, who began dating Madison Huang while both were in business school in London, became a vice president in January, after joining the firm in 2024 as a corporate development manager.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
And are they relevant for modern dating and relationships?
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026
They used radiocarbon dating to determine the age of six individual seeds.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2026
Last winter break, I read a book hiding in Grandmary’s closet that laid out “the rules” of dating.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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