annotate

verb

an·​no·​tate ˈa-nə-ˌtāt How to pronounce annotate (audio)
annotated; annotating
Synonyms of annotatenext

intransitive verb

: to make or furnish critical or explanatory notes or comment

transitive verb

: to make or furnish annotations (see annotation sense 1) for (something, such as a literary work or subject)
annotated his translation of Dante's Divine Comedy
annotative adjective
annotator noun

Examples of annotate in a Sentence

He annotated the text at several places.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The photo albums—handcrafted binders assembled over the course of five decades—are crammed with small prints glued to card stock and annotated in Richards’s cursive script. Shannon Taggart, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026 Far from contemporary pop, each note and lyric demands your full attention; the reward is transcendence, even as the material nudges you to annotate like a philosophy student with a highlighter in hand. Thania Garcia, Variety, 6 Nov. 2025 For example, after a creature’s genome is sequenced, the huge mass of raw genetic data—consisting of millions or billions of genetic building blocks called base pairs—must be annotated. Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum, 4 Nov. 2025 Below is the text of the Fifteenth Amendment, annotated with scholarship from JSTOR to provide historical context and research. JSTOR Daily, 25 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for annotate

Word History

Etymology

Latin annotatus, past participle of annotare, from ad- + notare to mark — more at note

First Known Use

1693, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of annotate was in 1693

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Annotate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/annotate. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

Kids Definition

annotate

verb
an·​no·​tate ˈan-ə-ˌtāt How to pronounce annotate (audio)
annotated; annotating
: to make or add explanatory notes
annotator noun

Legal Definition

annotate

verb
an·​no·​tate ˈa-nə-ˌtāt How to pronounce annotate (audio)
annotated; annotating

intransitive verb

: to make or write an annotation

transitive verb

: to make or write annotations for
annotator noun

More from Merriam-Webster on annotate

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