designate

American  

[dez-ig-neyt, dez-ig-nit, -neyt] / ˈdɛz ɪgˌneɪt, ˈdɛz ɪg nɪt, -ˌneɪt /

verb (used with object)

designated, designating

1. to mark or point out; indicate; show; specify.

2. to denote; indicate; signify.

3. to name; entitle; style.

4. to nominate or select for a duty, office, purpose, etc.; appoint; assign.

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adjective

1. named or selected for an office, position, etc., but not yet installed (often used in combination following the noun it modifies).

   ambassador-designate.

designate British  

/ ˌdɛzɪɡˈneɪtrɪ /

verb

1. to indicate or specify

2. to give a name to; style; entitle

3. to select or name for an office or duty; appoint

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adjective

1. (immediately postpositive) appointed, but not yet in office

   a minister designate

Other Word Forms

• dedesignate verb (used with object)
• designative adjective
• designator noun
• designatory adjective
• nondesignate adjective
• nondesignative adjective
• redesignate verb (used with object)
• undesignated adjective
• undesignative adjective
• well-designated adjective

Etymology

Origin of designate

1640–50; < Latin dēsignātus, past participle of dēsignāre. See design, -ate ¹

Explanation

To designate is to give something a specific status. If you designate your house an opera-free zone, it means that you've officially declared that no opera is allowed to be played there. To give a person or thing an official status is to designate it as something, like when you designate a meeting place if members of your group get lost at the amusement park. Sometimes, it can carry responsibility or an assignment, like when your teammates designate you as the captain. It can also show a category, like when you designate certain books to the humor section of the bookstore where you work.

Example Sentences

Much better is for the owner to designate tiers of heirs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Immigrant parents can choose to leave the country with their children or to designate someone to care for them, Bis said, which “is consistent with past administration’s policies.”

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

"We will designate naphtha as an item related to economic security by the end of the week," Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

Even better, cut out the trust and family members entirely, and simply designate the timeshare company — or resort association or developer — as the beneficiary of your mother’s timeshare at your death.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026

Amaranta felt so uncomfortable with her defective diction and her habit of using euphemisms to designate everything that she would always speak gibberish in front of her.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

• allocate
• allot
• appoint
• appropriate
• assign
• authorize
• choose
• define
• describe
• earmark
• elect
• mark
• name
• nominate
• set aside
• stipulate