designate

American  

[dez-ig-neyt, dez-ig-nit, -neyt] / ˈdɛz ɪgˌneɪt, ˈdɛz ɪg nɪt, -ˌneɪt /

verb (used with object)

designated, designating

1. to mark or point out; indicate; show; specify.

2. to denote; indicate; signify.

3. to name; entitle; style.

4. to nominate or select for a duty, office, purpose, etc.; appoint; assign.

---

adjective

1. named or selected for an office, position, etc., but not yet installed (often used in combination following the noun it modifies).

   ambassador-designate.

designate British  

/ ˌdɛzɪɡˈneɪtrɪ /

verb

1. to indicate or specify

2. to give a name to; style; entitle

3. to select or name for an office or duty; appoint

---

adjective

1. (immediately postpositive) appointed, but not yet in office

   a minister designate

Other Word Forms

• dedesignate verb (used with object)
• designative adjective
• designator noun
• designatory adjective
• nondesignate adjective
• nondesignative adjective
• redesignate verb (used with object)
• undesignated adjective
• undesignative adjective
• well-designated adjective

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.

Example Sentences

Carter administration lawyers said the president had the authority to designate an acting chair from among any of the Fed’s seven governors, and Carter issued an order designating Burns as the acting chair.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

At that length, the Dodgers won’t need to designate long relievers to piggyback Ohtani’s starts.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

"We will designate naphtha as an item related to economic security by the end of the week," Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

The administration has worked to designate the Salvadoran deportees as members of criminal gangs, including MS-13.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

He couldn’t see it, of course, though later he said he had felt it come forward, had perceived it with the kind of knowledge that had made the people designate Seer as his true name.

From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry

Related Words

• allocate
• allot
• appoint
• appropriate
• assign
• authorize
• choose
• define
• describe
• earmark
• elect
• mark
• name
• nominate
• set aside
• stipulate