nominate

verb

nom·​i·​nate ˈnä-mə-ˌnāt How to pronounce nominate (audio)
nominated; nominating

transitive verb

1
: designate, name
the first of the commonly so nominated explorers of the American ArcticVilhjalmur Stephansson
2
a
: to appoint or propose for appointment to an office or place
He was nominated to the Supreme Court.
b
: to propose as a candidate for election to office
We expect the party to nominate him for president.
c
: to propose for an honor
nominate her for player of the year
He was nominated for an Academy Award.
3
: to enter (a horse) in a race
nominatable adjective
nominator noun
nominee noun

Examples of nominate in a Sentence

We expect the party to nominate him for president. The President nominated her for Attorney General. Someone has to tell her the truth—I nominate you. We nominated her for player of the year.
Recent Examples on the Web On Up First, Montanaro and KQED's Marisa Lagos look at the down-ballot races that stood out: In North Carolina, Republicans nominated Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson for governor. Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 6 Mar. 2024 Colman Domingo, nominated this year for Best Actor for his role in Rustin, stars in TIFF darling Sing Sing, the trailer for which just dropped today. Lauren Huff, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2024 At the 2022 Game Awards, Stray was nominated for best game of the year and won independent game. Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024 For the first time, two international foreign-language movies have been nominated for best picture, while all noms for documentary feature film are for non-English-language films. Marta Balaga, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024 Lamb of God’s 2004 album, Ashes of the Wake, and their LP from 2006, Sacrament, have both been certified gold by the RIAA, and the group has been nominated five times for Grammys. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 6 Mar. 2024 Elrich nominated him in November, but Bailey had yet to be confirmed by the 11-member Montgomery County Council. Dan Morse, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024 The actor is also nominated for best supporting actor. Paul Grein, Billboard, 5 Mar. 2024 Bening is nominated for the award again this year for her role as Diana Nyad in Nyad. Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nominate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin nominatus, past participle of nominare, from nomin-, nomen name — more at name

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of nominate was in 1545

Dictionary Entries Near nominate

Cite this Entry

“Nominate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nominate. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

nominate

verb
nom·​i·​nate ˈnäm-ə-ˌnāt How to pronounce nominate (audio)
nominated; nominating
: to choose as a candidate for election, appointment, or honor
especially : to propose for office
nominated a senator for president
nominator noun

Legal Definition

nominate

1 of 2 adjective
nom·​i·​nate
ˈnä-mə-nət, -ˌnāt
in the civil law of Louisiana : having a special or certain name compare innominate

nominate

2 of 2 transitive verb
nom·​i·​nate ˈnä-mə-ˌnāt How to pronounce nominate (audio)
nominated; nominating
1
: to appoint or propose for appointment to an office, position, or place
if the testator has nominated an executor of the will
the President…shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadorsU.S. Constitution art. II
2
: to propose as a candidate for election to office
nomination noun
Etymology

Latin nominatus, past participle of nominare to call by name, from nomin- nomen name

More from Merriam-Webster on nominate

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