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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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.
With Platner out of the picture, the Maine Democratic Party will proceed with a convention later this month to determine the next nominee.
From Slate • Jul. 11, 2026
But any nominee will have to unite Platner's wounded supporters with moderates, independents and women voters wary of a party that just watched its chosen candidate implode.
From Barron's • Jul. 9, 2026
As the party’s nominee for Montana’s first congressional district, he relied on his blue-collar credentials from the start in one of the best campaign ads released this cycle.
From Salon • Jul. 9, 2026
Throughout his illustrious career, he also received one Oscar nomination in 1992 — as a producer for best picture nominee “A Few Good Men.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026
“Because I was grateful the nominee didn’t turn out to be me'' I pounced on this. “So you let Cap swallow the hook.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
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.
