nominee

American  

[nom-uh-nee] / ˌnɒm əˈni /

noun

• nominees
  plural

1. a person nominated, as to run for elective office or fill a particular post.

2. a person in whose name title to real estate or ownership of stock is held but who is not the actual proprietor or holder.

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nominee British  

/ ˌnɒmɪˈniː /

noun

1. a person who is nominated to an office or as a candidate

2. 1. a person or organization named to act on behalf of someone else, esp to conceal the identity of the nominator

   2. ( as modifier )

      nominee shareholder

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• nominees
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of nominee

First recorded in 1655–65; nomin(ate) + -ee

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Explanation

A nominee is someone running for office. You could be a nominee for student council or for the presidency. To nominate is to name or select someone as a candidate for office. In the United States, the primary elections help each party figure out who to nominate to run for office. That candidate is called the nominee. Once a nominee is selected, he or she runs against the sitting president. There are nominees at every level of government. Being a nominee is quite an honor, but it's not the ultimate goal: a nominee could still win or lose the election.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nominee nominees

Venu Srinivasan, vice-chairman of Tata Trusts and a nominee director on Tata Sons' board, has sought a probe into alleged governance lapses at some trusts.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Grammy prognosticators have tipped Kay as a potential best new artist nominee when nods are announced Nov. 16.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Paulina is intent on becoming the school’s nominee for the next Miss Ghana pageant, and, having handily snatched that crown, moving on to an international competition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

What Paxton must have known, though, is that once he became the nominee, he’d be golden.

From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2026

Then, somewhat oddly, both the Democratic front-runner in the primary and the ensuing Republican nominee became embroiled in scandals involving their ex-wives.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Party elders once settled on state governors and army generals as presidential nominees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Speculation in Sweden's literary circles is already in full swing, fuelled by the fact that the list of nominees and the jury's deliberations are kept secret for 50 years.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

Elsewhere, Senate nominees have walked a careful line on tariffs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

The former ER star praised all of his fellow nominees, but singled out veteran British star Sir Gary Oldman, who was nominated for Slow Horses.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

The Democratic National Convention met at Baltimore on July 9th and endorsed the Liberal Republican nominees, Greeley and Brown, and the Liberal Republican platform.

From A History of the Republican Party by George Washington Platt

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Related Words

• applicant
• appointee
• aspirant
• contender
• contestant

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