devote
verb (used with object)
to give up or appropriate to or concentrate on a particular pursuit, occupation, purpose, cause, etc..
had devoted
-
past perfectof devote.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
I was very much in that camp being described by Lee, the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” who had devoted years of her near-century-long life to gaining the day federal recognition.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026
For nearly 10 years, Schlamminger had devoted much of his career to measuring big G with extraordinary precision.
From Science Daily ● May 18, 2026
According to Ms. DuBois it is difficult to pinpoint when and why the movement to which she had devoted most of her life began shrugging her off, but it did.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
King's daughter Bernice said Jackson had "devoted his life to lifting people in poverty, the marginalized, and those pushed to society's edges".
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026
Born with a prodigy’s intuitive understanding of the animals, he had devoted himself to them so wholeheartedly that he was incomplete without them.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
