date

[ deyt ]

/ deɪt /

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See synonyms for: date / dated / dating on Thesaurus.com

noun

a particular month, day, and year at which some event happened or will happen: July 4, 1776 was the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

the day of the month: Is today's date the 7th or the 8th?

an inscription on a writing, coin, etc., that shows the time, or time and place, of writing, casting, delivery, etc.: a letter bearing the date January 16.

the time or period to which any event or thing belongs; period in general: Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.

the time during which anything lasts; duration: The pity is that childhood has so short a date.

an appointment for a particular time: They have a date with their accountant at ten o'clock.

a social appointment or engagement arranged beforehand with another person, especially when a romantic relationship exists or may develop: to go out on a Saturday night date.

a person with whom one has such a social appointment or engagement: Can I bring a date to the party?

an engagement for an entertainer to perform.

dates, the birth and death dates, usually in years, of a person: Dante's dates are 1265 to 1321.

verb (used without object), dat·ed, dat·ing.

to have or bear a date: The letter dates from 1873.

to belong to a particular period; have its origin: That dress dates from the 19th century. The architecture dates as far back as 1830.

to reckon from some point in time: The custom dates from the days when women wore longer skirts.

to go out socially on dates: She dated a lot during high school.

verb (used with object), dat·ed, dat·ing.

to mark or furnish with a date: Please date the check as of today.

to ascertain or fix the period or point in time of; assign a period or point in time to: The archaeologist dated the ruins as belonging to the early Minoan period.

to show the age of; show to be old-fashioned.

to make a date with; go out on dates with: He's been dating his best friend's sister.

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Idioms about date

to date, up to the present time; until now: This is his best book to date.

up to date. See entry at up-to-date.

Origin of date

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English noun from Middle French, from Late Latin data, noun use of data (feminine of datus, past participle of dare “to give”), from the phrase data (Romae) “written, given (at Rome)”; Middle English verb daten “to sign or date a document,” derivative of the noun

OTHER WORDS FROM date

dat·a·ble, date·a·ble, adjectivedat·a·ble·ness, date·a·ble·ness, noundat·er, nounun·dat·a·ble, adjective

un·date·a·ble, adjective

Other definitions for date (2 of 2)

date²

[ deyt ]

/ deɪt /

noun

the oblong, fleshy fruit of the date palm, a staple food in northern Africa, Arabia, etc., and an important export.

Origin of date

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French dade, date, from Medieval Latin datil(l)us, from Latin dactylus, from Greek dáktylos, from a Semitic language (and unrelated to Greek dáktylos “finger; dactyl)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use date in a sentence

Meanwhile, a quarter of American adults say they’ve gone on a date with someone they met online or via a dating app, and about 12 percent have found a committed relationship that way.
Can Technology Save Your Marriage?|Joshua Eferighe|November 20, 2020|Ozy
It did not announce a reopening date, but officials said the closure will last at least through January.
Smithsonian museums, zoo to close as coronavirus caseload in D.C. region hits record for 16th day|Dana Hedgpeth, Ovetta Wiggins|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
She was frazzled, and she had no idea what her date looked like.
Date Lab: It didn’t ‘take much to get us to start talking’|Prachi Gupta|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
Highs drop back to the mid- to upper 50s but are still seasonable for the date.
D.C.-area forecast: Cool sunshine today, but it turns milder Friday and Saturday|David Streit|November 19, 2020|Washington Post

Highs mainly in the mid-40s were a good 10 degrees or more below normal for the date.
PM Update: Hard freeze tonight for much of the area, then we start warming up Thursday|Ian Livingston|November 18, 2020|Washington Post
Her focus has clearly shifted—now she's more concerned with molding these men into dateable shape than with finding them dates.
The Cattiest Matchmaker|Emily Gould|February 22, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The Daily Beast crunched the numbers to pinpoint the 36 cities with the most—and least—dateable guys.
Best (and Worst) Cities to Meet Men|The Daily Beast|October 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The reign of Harsha is thus illustrated by a number of contemporary dateable works unusual in India.
Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3)|Charles Eliot
Basically, however, their proportions are the same, dateable to the early nineteenth century but with much less style involved.
Huntley|Tony P. Wrenn

British Dictionary definitions for date (1 of 2)

date¹

/ (deɪt) /

noun

a specified day of the monthtoday's date is October 27

the particular day or year of an eventthe date of the Norman Conquest was 1066

(plural) the years of a person's birth and death or of the beginning and end of an event or period

an inscription on a coin, letter, etc, stating when it was made or written

an appointment for a particular time, esp with a person to whom one is sexually or romantically attachedshe has a dinner date
the person with whom the appointment is made

the present moment; now (esp in the phrases to date, up to date)

verb

(tr) to mark (a letter, coin, etc) with the day, month, or year

(tr) to assign a date of occurrence or creation to

(intr; foll by from or back to) to have originated (at a specified time)his decline dates from last summer

(tr) to reveal the age ofthat dress dates her

to make or become old-fashionedsome good films hardly date at all

informal, mainly US and Canadian

to be a boyfriend or girlfriend of (someone of the opposite sex)
to accompany (a member of the opposite sex) on a date

Derived forms of date

datable or dateable, adjectivedateless, adjective

Word Origin for date

C14: from Old French, from Latin dare to give, as in the phrase epistula data Romae letter handed over at Rome

undefined date

See year

British Dictionary definitions for date (2 of 2)

date²

/ (deɪt) /

noun

the fruit of the date palm, having sweet edible flesh and a single large woody seed

short for date palm

Word Origin for date

C13: from Old French, from Latin, from Greek daktulos finger

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with date

date

In addition to the idiom beginning with date

date rape

also see

bring up to date
double date
make a date
out of date
to date
up to date

date

Idioms about date

Origin of date

OTHER WORDS FROM date

Other definitions for date (2 of 2)

Origin of date

Words related to date

How to use date in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for date (1 of 2)

Derived forms of date

Word Origin for date

undefined date

British Dictionary definitions for date (2 of 2)

Word Origin for date

Other Idioms and Phrases with date