stipulate
1 Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to arrange expressly or specify in terms of agreement.
to stipulate a price.
-
to require as an essential condition in making an agreement.
Total disarmament was stipulated in the peace treaty.
-
to promise, in making an agreement.
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Law. to accept (a proposition) without requiring that it be established by proof.
to stipulate the existence of certain facts or that an expert witness is qualified.
adjective
verb
-
(tr; may take a clause as object) to specify, often as a condition of an agreement
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to insist (on) as a term of an agreement
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Roman law to make (an oral contract) in the form of question and answer necessary to render it legally valid
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(tr; may take a clause as object) to guarantee or promise
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stipulate1
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin stipulātus (past participle of stipulārī “to demand a formal agreement”), apparently equivalent to stipul- ( see stipule) + -ātus -ate 1
Origin of stipulate2
From the New Latin word stipulātus, dating back to 1770–80. See stipule, -ate 1
Explanation
To stipulate something means to demand that it be part of an agreement. So when you make a contract or deal, you can stipulate that a certain condition must be met. Anytime you draw up a legal agreement, you can stipulate a requirement that has to be met for that agreement to be complete. This stipulation might put some sort of limit on the agreement. For example, if you run a fencing company and offer a sale, you can stipulate that to get the sale price, the fence must be ordered by a certain date. Your customer, in turn, might stipulate that the work must be finished before the ground freezes.
Vocabulary lists containing stipulate
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Great Expectations
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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.
From next season, the laws will stipulate that any player who needs treatment must go off for one minute.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026
The documents stipulate the couple held a trust worth $200 million — all of which would become Michael’s in the event of Kerri’s death.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
What became known as the Turing Test doesn’t stipulate how a machine achieves this.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
Let’s stipulate that nobody should be surprised by VanDyke’s conduct.
From Slate • Mar. 13, 2026
But suddenly we’re asked to stipulate, according to a list of terms, why we think that, and the terms are meaningless to us.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
