dedication
Americannoun
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the act of dedicating.
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the state of being dedicated.
Her dedication to medicine was so great that she had time for little else.
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a formal, printed inscription in a book, piece of music, etc., dedicating it to a person, cause, or the like.
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a personal, handwritten inscription in or on a work, as by an author to a friend.
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a ceremony marking the official completion or opening of a public building, institution, monument, etc.
noun
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the act of dedicating or the state of being dedicated
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an inscription or announcement prefixed to a book, piece of music, etc, dedicating it to a person or thing
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complete and wholehearted devotion, esp to a career, ideal, etc
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a ceremony in which something, such as a church, is dedicated
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dedication
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English dedicacioun, from Latin dēdicātiōn-, stem of dēdicātiō, literally, “a declaring,” equivalent to dēdicāt(us) “declared, devoted” (past participle of dēdicāre; see dedicate) + -iō -ion
Explanation
Dedication means "committing yourself to something," like your dedication to marathon training that had you running every single morning for four months. Dedication can be complete devotion and faith in someone or something, like your dedication to your family, a ceremony in which something is officially named, like the dedication of a new building. Another kind of dedication is a short message written to someone, like the dedication "Happy Birthday, Uncle Fred," which you write inside the book you give him, or something extra added to an autograph, like "To my greatest fan!"
Vocabulary lists containing dedication
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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It's Lit: Hanukkah Words
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Michelle Obama's final address as First Lady (2017)
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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.
"Our dedication to giving them the justice they deserved has been absolute."
From BBC • May 16, 2026
Michelangelo’s burning resentment of Da Vinci kept him warm at night, and his hostility toward Raphael fueled his years-long dedication to tagging up the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling.
From Salon • May 16, 2026
Annie’s attorneys and all those who spoke out on her behalf went above and beyond in their dedication to her case.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
It was thanks to Smith’s dedication that they were able to respond so successfully, says Hewlett.
From Slate • May 14, 2026
When pressed to explain the discrepancy between his hypothetical antislavery position and his actual dedication to self-imposed paralysis, he tended to offer several different answers.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
