destined
Americanadjective
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bound for a certain destination.
a freighter destined for Manila.
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ordained, appointed, or predetermined to be or do something.
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liable, planning, or intending to be or do something.
adjective
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foreordained or certain; meant
he is destined to be famous
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(usually foll by for) heading (towards a specific destination); directed
a letter destined for Europe
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of destined
Explanation
Someone who's destined is fated or meant to do something. If your mom says you're destined for a life on the stage, she means that it's certain you'll be an actor one day. Being destined for something can be great luck — if, for example, you're destined to be a millionaire. It can also mean something closer to "doomed," as you might be if you're destined to a string of bad luck after breaking a mirror and seeing a black cat run past at the exact same moment. The Old French root is destinée, "purpose, intent, fate, or destiny."
Vocabulary lists containing destined
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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The Tale of Despereaux
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Purple Hibiscus
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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.
But as fate would have it, it revealed to me that I was destined to be there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
At a bustling factory in western India, technicians work around the clock to turn glass into hair-thin fibre-optic strands destined for data centres powering the global artificial intelligence boom.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Crisp-head lettuces have their place — I love them on summer sandwiches destined to be eaten immediately — but given enough time, crunch becomes limpness.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
And, just incidentally, are all high-profile investigations of the future destined to be fodder for the kind of intrusive online “detectives” who were drawn to the city of Moscow like flies to an abattoir?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
“You know Miss Fairfax’s situation in life, I conclude; what she is destined to be?”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
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.
