nominee
Americannoun
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a person nominated, as to run for elective office or fill a particular post.
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a person in whose name title to real estate or ownership of stock is held but who is not the actual proprietor or holder.
noun
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a person who is nominated to an office or as a candidate
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a person or organization named to act on behalf of someone else, esp to conceal the identity of the nominator
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( as modifier )
nominee shareholder
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Etymology
Origin of nominee
First recorded in 1655–65; nomin(ate) + -ee
Explanation
A nominee is someone running for office. You could be a nominee for student council or for the presidency. To nominate is to name or select someone as a candidate for office. In the United States, the primary elections help each party figure out who to nominate to run for office. That candidate is called the nominee. Once a nominee is selected, he or she runs against the sitting president. There are nominees at every level of government. Being a nominee is quite an honor, but it's not the ultimate goal: a nominee could still win or lose the election.
Vocabulary lists containing nominee
Electoral Elocution: The Verbiage of Voting
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Academy Awards, List 1
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for January 16–22, 2021
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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.
Maine’s Graham Platner, the party’s presumptive nominee for U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
In the 33rd District, near Dallas, former Congressman Colin Allred – the Democratic nominee for Senate in 2024 – defeated current Congresswoman Julie Johnson.
From BBC • May 27, 2026
“Xavier Becerra was supposed to land in the single digits, and now he is going to be the Democratic nominee for governor,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
They’re also evenly matched against the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico.
From Salon • May 20, 2026
With the election just weeks away, Senator Kennedy, the Democratic nominee for president, warned that America was losing the Cold War.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
