dedicate
[verb ded-i-keyt; adjective ded-i-kit]
- to set apart and consecrate to a deity or to a sacred purpose: The ancient Greeks dedicated many shrines to Aphrodite.
- to devote wholly and earnestly, as to some person or purpose: He dedicated his life to fighting corruption.
- 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.
- (loosely) to inscribe a personal signature on (a book, drawing, etc., that is one's own work), usually with a salutation addressing the recipient.
- to mark the official completion or opening of (a public building, monument, highway, etc.), usually by formal ceremonies.
- 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.
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Origin of dedicate
Synonyms
See more synonyms for dedicate on Thesaurus.com2. commit, pledge, consecrate.
Synonym study
1. See devote.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for dedicate
Contemporary Examples
Decide as a family to share cooking responsibilities and dedicate enough time for healthy meals.
Meet the Chef Fighting to Ensure That Brazilians Will Never Be as Fat as AmericansBrandon Presser
June 25, 2014
Perhaps Ham will dedicate a plank in the replica ark to his bowtied benefactor.
Haley: Do you intend to dedicate the rest of your life, then, to the Negro cause?
During his college days at Boston University, he decided to dedicate his life to comedy.
Now the correspondents brazenly asked the president for permission to “dedicate it to your excellency.”
Historical Examples
To dedicate the chapel to her patron saint was only natural.
Byzantine Churches in ConstantinopleAlexander Van Millingen
If a man should dedicate himself to the payment of notes, would not this be injustice?
Essays, First SeriesRalph Waldo Emerson
Such is the discourse, half playful, half serious, which I dedicate to the god.
SymposiumPlato
You must dedicate this morning to me: it's the last, you know.
He has told me of your days in South America together and how he told you to dedicate it.
David DunneBelle Kanaris Maniates
dedicate
- (often foll by to) to devote (oneself, one's time, etc) wholly to a special purpose or cause; commit wholeheartedly or unreservedly
- (foll by to) to address or inscribe (a book, artistic performance, etc) to a person, cause, etc as a token of affection or respect
- (foll by to) to request or play (a record) on radio for another person as a greeting
- to assign or allocate to a particular project, function, etc
- to set apart for a deity or for sacred uses; consecrate
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- an archaic word for dedicated
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Word Origin
C15: from Latin dēdicāre to announce, from dicāre to make known, variant of dīcere to say
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for dedicate
v.
early 15c. (of churches), from Latin dedicatus, past participle of dedicare "consecrate, proclaim, affirm, set apart," from de- "away" (see de-) + dicare "proclaim," from stem of dicere "to speak, to say" (see diction). Dedicated "devoted to one's aims or vocation" is first attested 1944.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper