Dictionary.com
definitions

demarcate

[ dih-mahr-keyt, dee-mahr-keyt ]
/ dɪˈmɑr keɪt, ˈdi mɑrˌkeɪt /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR demarcate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), de·mar·cat·ed, de·mar·cat·ing.

to determine or mark off the boundaries or limits of: to demarcate a piece of property.
to separate distinctly: to demarcate the lots with fences.

RELATED CONTENT

February Used To Have A Much Stranger NameYou know it as the shortest month of the year—or, depending on where you live, the coldest. But, do you know where the name February came from?
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

delimit, detach, divide, separate

Nearby words

  1. demand-side,
  2. demandant,
  3. demanding,
  4. demandingly,
  5. demantoid,
  6. demarcation,
  7. demarcative,
  8. demarche,
  9. demark,
  10. demarket

Origin of demarcate

First recorded in 1810–20; back formation from demarcation
Related formsde·mar·ca·tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for demarcate

  • We used Flor Fedora carpet tiles to demarcate the display areas, in place of heavy platforms.

    The Curator's Tale|Ellen Lupton|July 7, 2010|DAILY BEAST

  • Out at Hillside the stones that demarcate the territory of an old-fashioned house are new and snowily whitewashed.

    Pipefuls|Christopher Morley

  • General Liu and I proposed to demarcate south of the Taiping.

    A Civil Servant in Burma|Herbert Thirkel White

British Dictionary definitions for demarcate

demarcate

/ (ˈdiːmɑːˌkeɪt) /

verb (tr)

to mark, fix, or draw the boundaries, limits, etc, of
to separate or distinguish between (areas with unclear boundaries)
Derived Formsdemarcator, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for demarcate

demarcate

v.

1816, back-formation from demarcation. Related: Demarcated; demarcating.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper