certificate
Americannoun
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a document serving as evidence or as written testimony, as of status, qualifications, privileges, or the truth of something.
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a document attesting to the fact that a person has completed an educational course, issued either by an institution not authorized to grant diplomas, or to a student not qualifying for a diploma.
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Law. a statement, written and signed, which is by law made evidence of the truth of the facts stated, for all or for certain purposes.
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Finance.
verb (used with object)
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to furnish with or authorize by a certificate.
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to issue an official certificate attesting to the training, aptitude, and qualification of.
to certificate a teacher.
noun
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an official document attesting the truth of the facts stated, as of birth, marital status, death, health, completion of an academic course, ability to practise a profession, etc
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short for share certificate
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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certificatesimple
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certificatessimple
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have certificatedperfect
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has certificatedperfect
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am certificatingprogressive
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are certificatingprogressive
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is certificatingprogressive
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have been certificatingperfect progressive
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has been certificatingperfect progressive
Past
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certificatedsimple
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had certificatedperfect
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was certificatingprogressive
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were certificatingprogressive
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had been certificatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of certificate
1375–1425; late Middle English certificat < Medieval Latin certificātum, noun use of neuter of certificātus certified (past participle of certificāre ), equivalent to certific- ( see certify) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
A certificate is a paper or document that proves some fact. Your most prized possession might be the certificate you got when you became a black belt in karate. Your fastidious friend might need to check the health inspection certificate before she'll agree to eat in a restaurant, and you'll need a copy of your birth certificate before you can apply for a passport. A certificate certifies or documents the fact that you are who you say you are, that you're licensed to drive, or authorized to practice dentistry, for example. You can trace the word certificate back to the Latin certus, "sure, fixed, settled."
Vocabulary lists containing certificate
The Judicial Branch
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"CLEP Financial Accounting," Vocabulary from Chapter 4
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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:
An FAA spokesman said the tour company’s operating certificate remains suspended.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Once I had all that and my sister’s death certificate, I emailed it all to the insurer and received my reimbursement about a week later.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
Sardar Khan, 41, was sitting in a large tent at Omari camp near the crossing, where people get a return certificate and are fingerprinted.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Later, the paperwork for the death certificate begins - an essential document so funeral homes can collect the remains.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
“But I’m his mother and you can see my certificate of important information.”
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Last year, the agency allowed Boeing to resume issuing some so-called airworthiness certificates for the jets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
A makeshift morgue is operating outdoors in the port of La Guaira, where long lines form to receive the bodies of loved ones and the death certificates.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
She removed the frame to reveal several more certificates safely secured under the first, like a stack of reminders to keep climbing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026
In his office, diplomas and academic certificates crowd the walls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Back at Chad, Richard earned his high school diploma and then began taking vocational classes, earning certificates in programs like Irrigation Design and Forklift Driving.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
A projected labor shortage of nearly 7,000 certificated mechanics in North America next year is 12% fewer than needed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
“With the number of requirements and expectations already placed on certificated staff, this is an unreasonable and highly concerning expectation.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2023
Electric aircraft maker Eve Holding Inc is "on track" to meet its goal of starting commercial operations in 2026, an executive said on Friday, and getting its aircraft certificated is the most immediate target.
From Reuters ● Feb. 17, 2023
Teachers, paraprofessionals and certificated teaching staff “will strike beginning Wednesday morning for a contract that meets student needs,” according to a statement sent by the Washington Education Association just after midnight.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2022
Indeed, the postman had brought me an official blue paper that morning, by virtue of which I was informed of my registration as a regular certificated teacher under the Act of 1871.
From Deep Moat Grange by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)
It would seem that full local control was given except in the matter of certificating teachers and regulating the government grant.
From Egerton Ryerson and Education in Upper Canada by Putnam, J. Harold
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.
