commemorate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to serve as a memorial or reminder of.
The monument commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
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to honor the memory of by some observance.
to commemorate the dead by a moment of silence; to commemorate Bastille Day.
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to make honorable mention of.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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commemoratornoun
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commemorableadjective
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commemorativeadjective
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uncommemoratedadjective
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commemorativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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commemoratesimple
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commemoratessimple
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have commemoratedperfect
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has commemoratedperfect
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am commemoratingprogressive
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are commemoratingprogressive
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is commemoratingprogressive
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have been commemoratingperfect progressive
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has been commemoratingperfect progressive
Past
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commemoratedsimple
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had commemoratedperfect
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was commemoratingprogressive
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were commemoratingprogressive
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had been commemoratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of commemorate
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin commemorātus “recalled,” past participle of commemorāre “to recall, put on record,” from com- com- + memor “mindful” + -āre, infinitive verb suffix
Explanation
To commemorate something means to remember something and by doing so to honor it, as in “We would like to commemorate his many years of past service by presenting him with this lovely gold watch.” The word commemorate has a pretty clear echo of memory in it, so it can help to keep it in your mind just by noticing that. You might also notice that you’ve seen the word before, either in late-night infomercials or in various advertisements in magazines, when they talk about commemorative plates, or stamps, or coins: little things that are supposed to honor events or people by recalling them to our collective memory.
Vocabulary lists containing commemorate
Memorial Day Words
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 5
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Academy Awards, List 2
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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:
Unlike virtual dark tourism that allows for “armchair travel” to real-world dark heritage sites, there is no physical location anchoring the Backrooms nor any historical tragedy to commemorate.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Crew members from "Star Trek" will also land in San Diego on Saturday, to commemorate six decades of exploring the far reaches of the universe.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Birmingham is marking a year since the death of Ozzy Osbourne with a day of music and celebration, affectionately called "Ozzy Day", to commemorate the passing of one of its most beloved sons.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Yet to think of the contrast between the two places only in these terms is to underestimate the stupendous achievement we commemorate this weekend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
In it there are three candidates for public office, whom I’ll call Dukakis, Gore, and Jackson, to commemorate the 1988 Democratic primary battles.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
As the U.S. commemorates its 250th anniversary, the public mood resembles that of 50 years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Juneteenth — a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States — is being marked on Friday, and there are many closures related to the holiday, including financial markets.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026
It is definitely commendable that the Dodgers “museum” commemorates Glenn Burke and Billy Bean.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026
This commemorates the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 in which a group of English Catholics failed to blow up Parliament and kill the Protestant king.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
“This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!”
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
Lieutenant Samuel Frost, an Officer Commanding, said Freeman would be "sorely missed, rightfully commemorated, and never forgotten".
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Stan is commemorated at the Bayeux Memorial in France, as well as at St Augustine's Church in his hometown.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
Over the past 250 years, Americans have commemorated Independence Day with festivals, barbecues, music and fireworks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Politicians and organizations that long commemorated Chavez and urged others to follow his ways are releasing statements by the minute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026
No, it turned out that the street instead commemorated Hermann’s father, Heinrich Goering, founding Reichskommissar of the former German colony of South-West Africa, which became Namibia.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
There’s a day for everything — and July 14 is, of course, most well known internationally for being Bastille Day, commemorating France’s independence.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
After extensive research, I could not find so much as a marker, on-site or elsewhere, commemorating the lives lost.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
The thousands who turned up to witness it were offered baseball caps commemorating "Écône2026".
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Anniversaries are funny things, commemorating the bad as well as the good in our shared and personal histories.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
He wants the art club to do a mural-size poster for the wall outside the office commemorating these past three weeks.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
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.
