dedication

American  

[ded-i-kay-shuhn] / ˌdɛd ɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

• dedications
  plural

1. the act of dedicating.

2. the state of being dedicated.

   Her dedication to medicine was so great that she had time for little else.

3. a formal, printed inscription in a book, piece of music, etc., dedicating it to a person, cause, or the like.

4. a personal, handwritten inscription in or on a work, as by an author to a friend.

5. a ceremony marking the official completion or opening of a public building, institution, monument, etc.

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dedication British  

/ ˌdɛdɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of dedicating or the state of being dedicated

2. an inscription or announcement prefixed to a book, piece of music, etc, dedicating it to a person or thing

3. complete and wholehearted devotion, esp to a career, ideal, etc

4. a ceremony in which something, such as a church, is dedicated

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondedication
  noun
• overdedication
  noun
• prededication
  noun
• rededication
  noun
• self-dedication
  noun
• dedicational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dedications
  plural

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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

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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!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dedication dedications

Remembering that the naked nuns are not cloistered because of some vocational dedication to Christ but because of their troublesome uselessness to the patriarchal order, they become that much more sympathetic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

"Their dedication helps ensure young offenders are punished as appropriate while being supported into rehabilitation, and we will deliver on our commitment to give children in prison more time outside their room," a spokesperson said.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

And when he continued with even more dedication this year, it wasn’t hard for Villani to see the connection between the renewed effort and the presence of a certain someone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

At a time when other sitcoms occasionally tackled social issues in “very special” episodes and “The Cosby Show” hewed to its namesake star’s dedication to respectability politics, “A Different World” regularly confronted harder topics.

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026

In a way she admired his dedication to the odd project.

From "Son" by Lois Lowry

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

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

Many of these dedications were to or from incarcerated people.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 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

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Related Words

• adherence
• allegiance
• commitment
• devotion

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