denote

American  

[dih-noht] / dɪˈnoʊt /

verb (used with object)

• denotes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• denoted,
  past participle,  past
• denoting
  present participle

1. to be a mark or sign of; indicate.

   A fever often denotes an infection.

   Synonyms:

   evidence, signify, signal, mark

2. to be a name or designation for; mean.

3. to represent by a symbol, or to be a symbol for.

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denote British  

/ dɪˈnəʊt /

verb

1. to be a sign, symbol, or symptom of; indicate or designate

2. (of words, phrases, expressions, etc) to have as a literal or obvious meaning

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• denotement
  noun
• denotable
  adjective
• undenotable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• denoting
  present
• denoted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• denote
  simple
• denotes
  simple
• have denoted
  perfect
• has denoted
  perfect
• am denoting
  progressive
• are denoting
  progressive
• is denoting
  progressive
• have been denoting
  perfect progressive
• has been denoting
  perfect progressive

Past

• denoted
  simple
• had denoted
  perfect
• was denoting
  progressive
• were denoting
  progressive
• had been denoting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will denote
  simple
• will have denoted
  perfect
• will be denoting
  progressive
• will have been denoting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of denote

First recorded in 1585–95; from Middle French dénoter, Latin dēnotāre “to mark out,” equivalent to dē- de- + notāre “to mark”; see note

Compare meaning

How does denote compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• denote vs. connote

Explanation

To denote is to draw attention to something or to show what it means. All of the googly-eyed looks that a girl gives to a boy might do more to denote her feelings for him than leaving a note in his locker. Denote comes from the Latin root dēnotāre, "to mark out." Using a particular facial expression can denote meaning, as in, "All of the crinkled foreheads and squinted eyebrows denoted a lack of understanding among the math students." Words and symbols also point to, or denote, meaning, "If he had used PST to denote the fact that he was in the Pacific time zone, she would have known that it was only 4:00 a.m. and too early to call from New York."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

denote denotes denoted denoting

There were also two yellow special marks to denote the speed restrictions in the area.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

Before long, Ms. Kobza notes, a new term entered the English vocabulary to denote an “assembly of maskers.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

This can denote a fleeting quality, a trend to pass us by, not unlike the evolution of photography and videography.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025

As part of her quest to revive N|uu, she and her granddaughter, Claudia Snyman, established a school for the language, which uses special characters in script to denote the verbal clicks.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025

The paper, with dozens of tables and arcane symbols to denote traits and variants, was challenging even for statisticians.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

This finalist for Oxford’s 2025 Word of the Year denotes the “cultivation of an impressive, attractive, or charismatic persona.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026

Audiences become part of the show — “immersive theater” denotes the involvement of the ticket buyer, usually by interacting with or following the cast.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2025

It denotes licentiousness and lack of control, the actions of a toddler gorging himself on chocolate until he is sick.

From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2025

The process involves sending the card to a grading company who analyse it for signs of wear and then award it a graded score, usually out of 10, which denotes its quality and potential value.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2025

When prefixed to the name of an office, ex- denotes that the person formerly held the office named: as, ex-mayor, the former mayor.

From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton

This zone of extreme pessimism is denoted by the shaded area at the bottom of the chart above.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026

About 100 feet away, a metal post denoted the park’s boundary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026

Mr. Robbins returns in the last play, which gives the evening its title, again on a first date, with a character denoted only as Girl, played with cool poise by Dylan Gelula.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025

The lone, unnamed gladiatrix in the 2000 film is played by stuntwoman Jane Omorogbe, denoted under “stunts” in the closing credits.

From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2024

As you can see, making smaller and smaller rectangles—whose widths, denoted by the symbol Δx, go to zero—makes the value closer and closer to 32, the true value for the area of the triangle.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

"Code Purple" alerts, denoting air quality considered very unhealthy for everyone, not just at-risk groups, blanketed much of the city as well as the wider region, including neighboring Virginia and Maryland.

From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026

The NHS says, external the star rating measures the amount of UVA protection, with more stars denoting increased protection.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

During her morning news conference, she seemed to mock some of the U.S. evidence, including hand-written ledgers allegedly denoting payoffs to Mexican politicians.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026

In early scenes, he has a small curved line denoting a chubby chin, which changes over time to straight lines on each cheek, narrowing his face when he is old and infirm.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026

Down the walls were lines denoting the breaks in the mirrors.

From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

Related Words

• stand for