nominee
Americannoun
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nominees
plural
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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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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
Millions of dollars Texas GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton raised in the third quarter of 2026, double his second-quarter total.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Fromouth was one of the young Mainers who initially saw hope in former Democratic nominee for Senate Graham Platner, who energized voters with a pitch to rally against corruption regardless of their party affiliation.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
This does not make Angh an Oscar nominee.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
In the cover story, the 2026 Oscar nominee reflected on her childhood in Manchester, being pregnant during awards season and her commitment to maintaining a joyful workplace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Then, somewhat oddly, both the Democratic front-runner in the primary and the ensuing Republican nominee became embroiled in scandals involving their ex-wives.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Speculation in Sweden's literary circles is already in full swing, fuelled by the fact that the list of nominees and the jury's deliberations are kept secret for 50 years.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
The complete list of 2026 Emmy nominees is available on the Television Academy website.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Grant nominees undergo a rigorous national peer review process before being chosen.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
With a large ensemble cast and multiple nominees in multiple categories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
As soon as he was out of sight, the city rose in arms against his nominees.
From The South American Republics Part I of II by Thomas C. Dawson
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.
