stipulate
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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stipulates,
present (3rd person singular)
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stipulated,
past participle, past
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stipulating
present participle
verb (used with object)
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stipulates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stipulated,
past participle, past
-
stipulating
present participle
-
to arrange expressly or specify in terms of agreement.
to stipulate a price.
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to require as an essential condition in making an agreement.
Total disarmament was stipulated in the peace treaty.
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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
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(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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stipulatesimple
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stipulatessimple
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have stipulatedperfect
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has stipulatedperfect
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am stipulatingprogressive
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are stipulatingprogressive
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is stipulatingprogressive
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have been stipulatingperfect progressive
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has been stipulatingperfect progressive
Past
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stipulatedsimple
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had stipulatedperfect
-
was stipulatingprogressive
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were stipulatingprogressive
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had been stipulatingperfect progressive
Future
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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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:
Our field’s foundational laws, regulatory guidelines and ethical mandates stipulate that organ donation must never influence or interfere with the degree or timing of one’s medical care.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
All were required by court order to stipulate how they came to their decisions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The terms stipulate that Canada will make payments into a US economic development fund of the equivalent of 50 percent of net revenue generated by the bridge for a period of 15 years.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Martin noted some virtual jobs stipulate no promotions during onboarding, as some employers who are enforcing return-to-office rules actively favor their on-site staff for advancement.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026
“This conclave cannot stipulate how I train my apprentices! It is my sole right to teach them, train them, and discipline them!”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Joshua's contract stipulates it must take place in the UK, leading to his promoter Eddie Hearn renegotiating details in that deal.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
The January agreement, under which Kurdish fighters would be integrated into state structures, stipulates that the SDF commit to expelling all non-Syrian PKK leaders and members from the country.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
It stipulates that an armed attack on any one of them will be regarded as an attack on all three.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The IRS stipulates that pay must be “reasonable” and states that organizations should rely on a comparison of pay across organizations doing similar work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Tano had a lot of goons,” Autumn stipulates, finger-spelling goons.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Department of Energy formally stipulated that none of the 284 grants terminated in October 2025 were terminated “based on any programmatic, statutory, cost-reduction or performance-based factor.”
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
However, they fell out over the peace accord, from which Eritrea was excluded, and which stipulated the withdrawal of foreign soldiers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Lofgren and Amo noted in their letter that the Energy secretary spoke to the Science Committee more than three weeks after department attorneys stipulated to the opposite in court documents signed May 15, 2026.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Contracts were pushed out by years, and customers weren’t held to taking as much supply as their Covid-era commitments stipulated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Typically, we received even less than the meager amounts stipulated in the regulations.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
This is the first book I’ve ever read that sounds just like a social media feed, with the author recommending product after product, and then stipulating whether or not he is affiliated with them.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
Aside from stipulating how to divide assets, it safeguards which children from prior relationships will receive an inheritance.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Sandy is also alarmed councils are giving out operator licences without stipulating that e-bikes must be insured to cover incidents such as hers.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
The Uniform Code of Military Justice, or UCMJ, contains several provisions stipulating that servicemembers are liable for illegal orders even if they were given by a superior officer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026
It was a nondisclosure form stipulating that father and son would not tell anyone what had gone on inside the prison.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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.
