designate
Americanverb (used with object)
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designates,
present (3rd person singular)
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designated,
past participle, past
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designating
present participle
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to mark or point out; indicate; show; specify.
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to denote; indicate; signify.
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to name; entitle; style.
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to nominate or select for a duty, office, purpose, etc.; appoint; assign.
adjective
verb
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to indicate or specify
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to give a name to; style; entitle
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to select or name for an office or duty; appoint
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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designatornoun
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dedesignateverb (used with object)
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redesignateverb (used with object)
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designativeadjective
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designatoryadjective
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nondesignateadjective
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nondesignativeadjective
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undesignatedadjective
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undesignativeadjective
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well-designatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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designatesimple
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designatessimple
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have designatedperfect
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has designatedperfect
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am designatingprogressive
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are designatingprogressive
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is designatingprogressive
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have been designatingperfect progressive
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has been designatingperfect progressive
Past
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designatedsimple
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had designatedperfect
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was designatingprogressive
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were designatingprogressive
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had been designatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of designate
1640–50; < Latin dēsignātus, past participle of dēsignāre. See design, -ate 1
Explanation
To designate is to give something a specific status. If you designate your house an opera-free zone, it means that you've officially declared that no opera is allowed to be played there. To give a person or thing an official status is to designate it as something, like when you designate a meeting place if members of your group get lost at the amusement park. Sometimes, it can carry responsibility or an assignment, like when your teammates designate you as the captain. It can also show a category, like when you designate certain books to the humor section of the bookstore where you work.
Vocabulary lists containing designate
Baseball: A Lexicon
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Number the Stars
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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:
First, no legal authority exists to designate domestic organizations as terrorist groups.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
For clients who like to pick stocks, advisers may designate a “play money” bucket.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
The proposal would designate the Buildings Department as the single authority overseeing requirements from all other involved agencies so developers aren’t subject to repetitive paperwork and delays.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
“After thoughtful discussions, the City of West Hollywood, the WeHo Pride production team, and Kathy Hilton have determined that the 2026 WeHo Pride Parade will not designate a Grand Marshal Icon honoree,” read the statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
Warders’ lunch boxes were known as “suitcases” and normally a warder would designate a prisoner, usually his favorite, to carry his “suitcase,” and then reward him with half a sandwich.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Known as the Record of Emergency Data, this form designates that beneficiaries get $100,000 tax-free cash and any unreceived payments after a servicemember dies.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Second, the order designates as an organization something the FBI’s past leadership has described as an ideology.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
The case stems from a broader legal dispute over the renaming of the cultural institution, which US law designates as a memorial to President John F Kennedy.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
The Five-Year Plan designates quantum as one of seven frontier technologies, with coordinated commercialization efforts focused on a smaller set of institutions.
From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026
Denmark gives its citizens the choice of three official genders: male, female, and X.The White House designates a gender-neutral bathroom for visitors and staff.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
Roberts didn’t rule out the possibility of Rushing being activated as a designated hitter down the line.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Two days later, the US designated Brazil's two largest drug cartels as terrorist organizations -- which Flavio has said was a personal request.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
It plans to eventually fill out its fleet with the Cybercab, a designated robotaxi that went into production in late April, and retire the other vehicles.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Its products also recently started recognizing designated people and alerting the homeowner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The vastness of the night beyond the house, the dark trees, the welcoming shadows, the cool new-mown grass—all this had been reserved, he had designated it as belonging exclusively to himself and Cecilia.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Clients often hear financial planners talk in terms of designating different buckets of money to organize a portfolio.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
But as Exxon replies, a “substantial portion of the S&P 500 including the majority of Delaware incorporated issuers, maintain exclusive-forum provisions designating a single court for internal affairs litigation.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
“For the first time in the program’s history, EPA is designating both microplastics and pharmaceuticals as priority contaminant groups,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2026
A good first step to reducing screen time could be designating a set place in the home for devices, such as a particular cupboard.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026
James Fisk, who supervised the American side of the talks with a diplomatic skill unexpected of a scientific appointee, brought home an agreement designating the detection of nuclear bomb tests as “technically feasible.”
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
