designate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to mark or point out; indicate; show; specify.
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to denote; indicate; signify.
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to name; entitle; style.
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to nominate or select for a duty, office, purpose, etc.; appoint; assign.
adjective
verb
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to indicate or specify
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to give a name to; style; entitle
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to select or name for an office or duty; appoint
adjective
Other Word Forms
- dedesignate verb (used with object)
- designative adjective
- designator noun
- designatory adjective
- nondesignate adjective
- nondesignative adjective
- redesignate verb (used with object)
- undesignated adjective
- undesignative adjective
- well-designated adjective
Etymology
Origin of designate
1640–50; < Latin dēsignātus, past participle of dēsignāre. See design, -ate 1
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.
They cite a 1978 memo from the Justice Department to the Carter administration saying the president could designate one of the central bank’s board members as acting chair.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026
At that length, the Dodgers won’t need to designate long relievers to piggyback Ohtani’s starts.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
The administration has worked to designate the Salvadoran deportees as members of criminal gangs, including MS-13.
From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026
There has also been a push in Congress led by Massachusetts Democrat Representative Ayanna Pressley with more than 170 supporters for legislation to require the administration to designate Haiti for TPS.
From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026
He couldn’t see it, of course, though later he said he had felt it come forward, had perceived it with the kind of knowledge that had made the people designate Seer as his true name.
From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry
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.
