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
Derived Forms
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well-designatedadjective
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nondesignateadjective
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undesignatedadjective
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undesignativeadjective
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designatoryadjective
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nondesignativeadjective
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designatornoun
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dedesignateverb (used with object)
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redesignateverb (used with object)
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designativeadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has designatedperfect 3rd person singular
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have designatedperfect
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has been designatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am designatingprogressive 1st person singular
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is designatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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designatingparticiple
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designatessingular 3rd person
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are designatingprogressive
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have been designatingperfect progressive
Past
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had designatedperfect
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were designatingprogressive plural
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had been designatingperfect progressive
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designatedsimple
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designatedparticiple
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was designatingprogressive singular
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
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Number the Stars
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Nothing But the Truth
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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.
Designate a window at a certain time of day to go online.
From BBC • Nov. 17, 2023
Joyce's early retirement will see CEO Designate Vanessa Hudson, the first woman to lead the century-old airline, take charge on Wednesday.
From Reuters • Sep. 5, 2023
Designate one basket for medicine and vitamins, one for hair products, and so on.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 14, 2023
Designate one hand for adding water and the other for mixing the batter together.
From Salon • Jun. 28, 2023
By Mr. Brady: Designate on the chart where it is?
From Trial of the Officers and Crew of the Privateer Savannah, on the Charge of Piracy, in the United States Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York by Warburton, A. F.
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.
