designate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
designates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
designated,
past participle, past
-
designating
present participle
-
to mark or point out; indicate; show; specify.
-
to denote; indicate; signify.
-
to name; entitle; style.
-
to nominate or select for a duty, office, purpose, etc.; appoint; assign.
adjective
verb
-
to indicate or specify
-
to give a name to; style; entitle
-
to select or name for an office or duty; appoint
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
designatornoun
-
dedesignateverb (used with object)
-
redesignateverb (used with object)
-
designativeadjective
-
designatoryadjective
-
nondesignateadjective
-
nondesignativeadjective
-
undesignatedadjective
-
undesignativeadjective
-
well-designatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
designatesimple
-
designatessimple
-
have designatedperfect
-
has designatedperfect
-
am designatingprogressive
-
are designatingprogressive
-
is designatingprogressive
-
have been designatingperfect progressive
-
has been designatingperfect progressive
Past
-
designatedsimple
-
had designatedperfect
-
was designatingprogressive
-
were designatingprogressive
-
had been designatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of designate
1640–50; < Latin dēsignātus, past participle of dēsignāre. See design, -ate 1
Explanation
To designate is to give something a specific status. If you designate your house an opera-free zone, it means that you've officially declared that no opera is allowed to be played there. To give a person or thing an official status is to designate it as something, like when you designate a meeting place if members of your group get lost at the amusement park. Sometimes, it can carry responsibility or an assignment, like when your teammates designate you as the captain. It can also show a category, like when you designate certain books to the humor section of the bookstore where you work.
Vocabulary lists containing designate
Baseball: A Lexicon
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Number the Stars
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Nothing But the Truth
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
They can also designate an entire area a face mask-free zone for the duration of a protest.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
They’ve already succeeded in convincing the government to designate the Vjosa Narta river area as a national park.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
The third requires the government to consider economic and national security tradeoffs when deciding whether to designate a particular area as "critical habitat."
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
The court system would have to step in and officially designate the guardian, checking criminal backgrounds first.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
The fair prompted President Harrison to designate October 12 a national holiday, Columbus Day, which today serves to anchor a few thousand parades and a three-day weekend.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Others, like us, were what Ragbrai tradition designates “virgins.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
The case stemmed from a broader legal dispute over the renaming of the cultural institution, which US law designates as a memorial to President John F Kennedy.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Known as the Record of Emergency Data, this form designates that beneficiaries get $100,000 tax-free cash and any unreceived payments after a servicemember dies.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The Five-Year Plan designates quantum as one of seven frontier technologies, with coordinated commercialization efforts focused on a smaller set of institutions.
From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026
In fact, the term “graphic art,” which designates drawings and prints, comes from the Greek word for writing, graphos.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
While having a power of attorney designated for a person who is suffering cognitive decline is an absolute necessity, having them declared incompetent by a court is not.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
The house has also taken on male ambassadors this year, including actor Pedro Pascal, but still has no officially designated men's line.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
He has concentrated more power than any Chinese leader since Mao Zedong and has designated no successor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
Engineers designated a small section of each detector to rapidly monitor a different guide star -- stars whose positions are already known with high precision.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
Mom and Dad waited in line with their card for their designated food supply, and it was disheartening to see my parents so powerless.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
The ballot measure also would make a major change to gubernatorial recall elections by automatically designating the lieutenant governor as the replacement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
"It is the first model we are designating at this level, and requires stronger safeguards during development and before release," the blog said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
Under its Green Deal and related policies, the European Union is designating 30% of the continent as nature-protected by 2030.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Her letter also called for the government to consider designating Heyford Park and its surrounding area as a priority monitoring site for the chemicals - known as PFAS.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
“What were your instructions,” Eldon Rosen asked, “if you wound up designating a human as android?”
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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.
