dedicate
Americanverb (used with object)
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dedicates,
present (3rd person singular)
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dedicated,
past participle, past
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dedicating
present participle
-
to set apart and consecrate to a deity or to a sacred purpose.
The ancient Greeks dedicated many shrines to Aphrodite.
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to devote wholly and earnestly, as to some person or purpose.
He dedicated his life to fighting corruption.
- Synonyms:
- consecrate, pledge, commit
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to offer formally (a book, piece of music, etc.) to a person, cause, or the like in testimony of affection or respect, as on a prefatory page.
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(loosely) to inscribe a personal signature on (a book, drawing, etc., that is one's own work), usually with a salutation addressing the recipient.
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to mark the official completion or opening of (a public building, monument, highway, etc.), usually by formal ceremonies.
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to set aside for or assign to a specific function, task, or purpose.
The county health agency has dedicated one inspector to monitor conditions in nursing homes.
adjective
verb
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(often foll by to) to devote (oneself, one's time, etc) wholly to a special purpose or cause; commit wholeheartedly or unreservedly
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(foll by to) to address or inscribe (a book, artistic performance, etc) to a person, cause, etc as a token of affection or respect
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(foll by to) to request or play (a record) on radio for another person as a greeting
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to assign or allocate to a particular project, function, etc
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to set apart for a deity or for sacred uses; consecrate
adjective
Synonym Usage
See devote.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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dedicateenoun
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dedicatornoun
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overdedicateverb (used with object)
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prededicateverb (used with object)
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rededicateverb (used with object)
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dedicatoryadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dedicatesimple
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dedicatessimple
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have dedicatedperfect
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has dedicatedperfect
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am dedicatingprogressive
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are dedicatingprogressive
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is dedicatingprogressive
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have been dedicatingperfect progressive
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has been dedicatingperfect progressive
Past
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dedicatedsimple
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had dedicatedperfect
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was dedicatingprogressive
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were dedicatingprogressive
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had been dedicatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dedicate
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English (verb and adjective) from Latin dēdicātus, past participle of dēdicāre “to declare, devote,” equivalent to dē- “from, away, out of” + dicāre “to indicate, consecrate,” akin to dīcere “to say, speak”; see de-, dictate)
Explanation
To dedicate is to assign, to commit or to give over. If you dedicate a song you’ve written to a friend, it means the song belongs to them. If you dedicate yourself to a project, it means you give yourself to it. Things you may be dedicated to include your family, improving your local park, or attempting to break the world record for making the world's biggest rubber band ball. A dedicated resource is one committed to a specific mission, such as the computer room at your school being dedicated, or given over, to newspaper production every Tuesday afternoon.
Vocabulary lists containing dedicate
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Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
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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:
“I’m going to dedicate as much time as I can to it. I’m going to let hours float by.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2026
I came to the conclusion that in my next job, if I got one, I would dedicate myself to a more manageable lifestyle and put my own fitness first.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
"I will dedicate 24 hours a day to making this country into the country everyone dreams of," he added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026
According to the prospectus, each of Anthropic’s co-founders pledged to dedicate 80% of their personal Anthropic equity to philanthropy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
I'll run out of oxygen even if I dedicate all available power to producing it.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
He typically dedicates about two hours a day to a combination of physical and mental conditioning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Sporting a baseball cap and brandishing his smartphone like a weapon, Mordechai David dedicates his time to filming people against their will.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "No one who dedicates themselves to a career in midwifery should be left in limbo when their skills are so urgently needed to rebuild the NHS."
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
One fan I spoke to, Carmelo Hernandez, dedicates hours to handcrafting ceramic dinosaur sculptures.
From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2026
“For which she will one day thank us when she dedicates her first book to the Marysville Free Public Library.”
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
Updates include air and water filtration and conditioning systems, and a dedicated multistage reverse-osmosis drinking system.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
They dedicated their theses to one another: He was her “unwavering pillar of strength” and Athena was the “relentless drive” that propelled him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Built by a Chinese state firm and owned by a Thai-led consortium, it sells electricity exclusively to Vietnam's national grid via dedicated transmission lines.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
After some initial backing from the Arts Council of Wales, he said Ballet Cymru went 13 years without any funding at all and 28 years without its own dedicated studio.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
The teppanyaki room inside the Okada restaurant consisted of four islands, each with a large, cast-iron hibachi and dedicated chef.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
The campaign is dedicating $4 million to spread the ad far and wide.
From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2026
The “Step Up” star shared on social media that she is dedicating this dance to her mother.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
He was shooting season 3 of Wrecked, the TBS Lost spoof, when he started dedicating himself to writing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Appearing as Sunday's headline act, the 82-year-old US soul star sang the track, which included lyrics like: "Joy, joy, joy, freedom, always be you", after dedicating it to the audience.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
I like having money and I like the fact that I’m not dedicating too much time to feeling sorry for myself.
From "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
