nominate

[ verb nom-uh-neyt; adjective nom-uh-nit ]

verb (used with object)

, nom·i·nat·ed, nom·i·nat·ing.

1. to propose (someone) for appointment or election to an office.

   Synonyms: choose, pick

2. to appoint to a duty or office.
3. to propose for an honor, award, or the like.
4. Horse Racing. to register (a horse) as an entry in a race.
5. to name; designate.
6. Obsolete. to specify.

adjective

1. having a particular name.

nominate

verb

1. to propose as a candidate, esp for an elective office
2. to appoint to an office or position
3. to name (someone) to act on one's behalf, esp to conceal one's identity
4. intr to stand as a candidate in an election
5. archaic.
   to name, entitle, or designate

adjective

1. rare.
   having a particular name

Derived Forms

• ˈnomiˌnator, noun

Other Words From

• nomi·nator noun
• re·nomi·nate verb (used with object) renominated renominating
• un·nomi·nated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nominate¹

1475–85; < Latin nōminātus (past participle of nōmināre to name, call by name), equivalent to nōmin- (stem of nōmen; nomen ) + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of nominate¹

C16: from Latin nōmināre to call by name, from nōmen name

Example Sentences

The movie was also nominated for Best Picture and Peele was nominated for Best Director.

From Washington Blade

Anyone can apply or nominate someone female or nonbinary for the speakers bureau.

From Fortune

The governor’s office declined to answer questions about whether the governor was aware of them when he nominated Clarkson to his position in late 2018.

From ProPublica

Ross was once nominated to become Alaska attorney general, by then-Gov.

From ProPublica

Political analysts will sometimes recount how the Democrats, after losing three consecutive presidential elections, nominated Bill Clinton in 1992 and moved in a more centrist direction.

From FiveThirtyEight

And they would, it seems, nominate any movie—no matter how inane—to get those big-name butts in the seats.

From The Daily Beast

Drama schools were visited; members of the public were allowed to nominate themselves.

From The Daily Beast

The Stalwarts had bolted the Red Gym and were holding a shadow convention to nominate their own candidates at the opera house.

From The Daily Beast

Regardless, she's phenomenal, and it's egregious not to give her the Best Actress trophy, let alone not to even nominate her.

From The Daily Beast

A federal agency simply has to “nominate” you if it has “reasonable suspicion”—which is slightly more than a hunch.

From The Daily Beast

Thereon the major-general took on himself to nominate Prince Eugne as Murat's successor.

From Project Gutenberg

The proposed plan embodied the appointment of a Gov.-General, who would nominate a Cabinet to act with him.

From Project Gutenberg

George, however, wished to have the power to nominate a regent by an instrument revocable at pleasure.

From Project Gutenberg

In resigning the presidency he thought it his duty to nominate a successor, and his choice was ratified by the meeting.

From Project Gutenberg

After that term Fox suggested that the crown should nominate the commissioners, and meanwhile was to appoint to vacancies.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• appoint
• assign
• choose
• decide
• draft
• elect
• elevate
• name
• present
• propose
• recommend
• submit
• suggest
• tap