dedication
Americannoun
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dedications
plural
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the act of dedicating.
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the state of being dedicated.
Her dedication to medicine was so great that she had time for little else.
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a formal, printed inscription in a book, piece of music, etc., dedicating it to a person, cause, or the like.
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a personal, handwritten inscription in or on a work, as by an author to a friend.
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a ceremony marking the official completion or opening of a public building, institution, monument, etc.
noun
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the act of dedicating or the state of being dedicated
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an inscription or announcement prefixed to a book, piece of music, etc, dedicating it to a person or thing
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complete and wholehearted devotion, esp to a career, ideal, etc
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a ceremony in which something, such as a church, is dedicated
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nondedicationnoun
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overdedicationnoun
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prededicationnoun
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rededicationnoun
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self-dedicationnoun
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dedicationaladjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of dedication
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English dedicacioun, from Latin dēdicātiōn-, stem of dēdicātiō, literally, “a declaring,” equivalent to dēdicāt(us) “declared, devoted” (past participle of dēdicāre; see dedicate) + -iō -ion
Explanation
Dedication means "committing yourself to something," like your dedication to marathon training that had you running every single morning for four months. Dedication can be complete devotion and faith in someone or something, like your dedication to your family, a ceremony in which something is officially named, like the dedication of a new building. Another kind of dedication is a short message written to someone, like the dedication "Happy Birthday, Uncle Fred," which you write inside the book you give him, or something extra added to an autograph, like "To my greatest fan!"
Vocabulary lists containing dedication
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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It's Lit: Hanukkah Words
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Michelle Obama's final address as First Lady (2017)
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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:
Wu’s dedication has vaulted him to the top of this world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
PC Blades' wife said he "gave his life in the line of duty, protecting and serving others with courage, dedication and selflessness".
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
At Fountain Grains & Greens, the owners’ dedication to using local, carefully sourced ingredients also make it difficult to meet the increased demand for protein.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
"Without the dedication of many people caring for these collections, this research would never have been possible."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
She bent in dedication to the task even as he swapped their offspring.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Some of the aging boxes contain autographs or dedications from the A-listers.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2025
As at the Chicago rat hole, an altar or shrine would have then been set up for pilgrims to offer dedications and make special requests.
From Slate ● Feb. 11, 2024
Jewish groups have long denounced these dedications, arguing soldiers in the Galicia Division swore allegiance to Adolf Hitler, and were either complicit in Nazi Germany's crimes or had committed crimes themselves.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2023
He was clean-shaven and carried a bible and a blue book of dedications which had "Jesus First" emblazoned on its cover.
From Reuters ● May 26, 2023
Poetry and drama were deeply involved in networks of patronage: praise-poems, sucky-up dedications, scurrilous broadsides, and vicious “flytings” of one’s rivals.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
