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
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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
List 1
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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 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
She chose to dedicate a part of the garden with a willow tree to Mabel.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
For example, if the government decided to impose a tax on stock sales and dedicate a portion of estate-tax revenues toward Social Security, a given person might not be affected by both those measures.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
To whom does a tzaddik dedicate his life?
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
Bouncing between Dallas and New York City as she pursues a writing career, she dedicates seemingly boundless energy and emotion to men who are unsuitable, unavailable or both.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 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
According to chief curator Joes Segal, the exhibition dedicates two sections to authoritarianism — one to the cult of personality and the other to the act of resistance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 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
“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
Hayek Pinault dedicated the award to Dolores Huerta, who attended the gala last year, and called Huerta “a womb for our community.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
By 1941, Capra was a dedicated family man with three children, having married Lucille Reyburn in 1932; their union would last 52 years, a Hollywood rarity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
The experience helped shape a political career dedicated to improving the lives of working families, particularly coal miners, veterans and children.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
On Thursday, Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, in the firm’s emailed newsletter called companies dedicated to steady dividend increases “a rare breed.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
As a result of his wartime experiences, Peter van Woerden dedicated his musical gifts to God’s service.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The campaign is dedicating $4 million to spread the ad far and wide.
From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2026
“Erewhon stands as a true family-owned local icon — one that champions creativity and well being while fiercely dedicating itself to its communities.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 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
Software providers are dedicating more resources to this puzzle, and some are initiating new roles to meet the task at hand.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
“I am personally dedicating the vast resources of Sinclair Scientifica to that fight,” he continued.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
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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.
