celebrate

[sel-uh-breyt]

verb (used with object)

celebrated, celebrating 

1. to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event) with ceremonies or festivities.

   to celebrate Christmas; to celebrate the success of a new play.

   Synonyms: solemnize, commemorate

2. to make known publicly; proclaim.

   The newspaper celebrated the end of the war in red headlines.

3. to praise widely or to present to widespread and favorable public notice, as through newspapers or novels.

   a novel celebrating the joys of marriage; the countryside celebrated in the novels of Hardy.

   Synonyms: commend, applaud, acclaim, hail, glorify, laud

4. to perform with appropriate rites and ceremonies; solemnize.

   to celebrate a marriage.

verb (used without object)

celebrated, celebrating 

1. to observe a day or commemorate an event with ceremonies or festivities.

2. to perform a religious ceremony, especially Mass or the Lord's Supper.

3. to have or participate in a party, drinking spree, or uninhibited good time.

   You look like you were up celebrating all night.

celebrate

/ ˈsɛlɪˌbreɪt /

verb

1. to rejoice in or have special festivities to mark (a happy day, event, etc)

2. (tr) to observe (a birthday, anniversary, etc)

   she celebrates her ninetieth birthday next month

3. (tr) to perform (a solemn or religious ceremony), esp to officiate at (Mass)

4. (tr) to praise publicly; proclaim

Other Word Forms

• celebrative adjective
• celebrator noun
• celebrater noun
• celebratory adjective
• precelebrate verb
• recelebrate verb
• uncelebrating adjective
• celebration noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of celebrate¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin celebrātus, past participle of celebrāre “to solemnize, celebrate, honor,” equivalent to celebr- (stem of celeber ) “often repeated, famous” + -ātus past participle suffix; -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of celebrate¹

C15: from Latin celebrāre, from celeber numerous, thronged, renowned

Example Sentences

Pumpkin cake layered with a tart cream-cheese ganache, dipped in white chocolate and painted in orange sugar, from a celebrated confectioner.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It crashed but yielded a celebrated memoir, “Burn Rate,” that captured the madness of the dot-com era while also prompting complaints from some of its subjects about accuracy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Not surprisingly, this melancholy picture celebrates and mourns Langhe, a region imperiled by global warming and encroaching industrialization that threaten the once-fecund practice of truffle gathering.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He celebrated the wave of innovations that had enriched human existence—railroads, steamships, telegraphs, telephones, electric lights, anesthetics, antiseptics.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Celebrity fitness coach Joe Wicks has kept his promise and returned to celebrate the opening of a school that was badly damaged in a fire.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• honor 
• laud 
• observe 
• perform 
• praise 
• proclaim 
• revere