officiate

verb

of·​fi·​ci·​ate ə-ˈfi-shē-ˌāt 

officiated; officiating

intransitive verb

1

: to perform a ceremony, function, or duty

officiate at a wedding

2

: to act in an official capacity : act as an official (as at a sports contest)

transitive verb

1

: to carry out (an official duty or function)

2

: to serve as a leader or celebrant of (a ceremony)

3

: to administer the rules of (a game or sport) especially as a referee or umpire

officiation

ə-ˌfi-shē-ˈā-shən 

noun

Examples of officiate in a Sentence

The bishop officiated the memorial Mass.

Two referees officiated the hockey game.

Recent Examples on the Web

News of Sandler officiating Swift and Kelce’s big day caused some ripples of surprise from corners of the internet. — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 6 July 2026

The ceremony was officiated by friend Adam Sandler in front of a sea of celebrities, athletes, business moguls, friends and family members. — Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 5 July 2026

The ceremony was officiated by Adam Sandler, and the pair's brothers — Austin Swift and Jason Kelce — acted as their bridal party. — Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026

The wedding was attended by around 1,000 guests and was officiated by actor Adam Sandler, who starred with Travis in the 2026 movie, Happy Gilmore 2. — Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 6 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin officiātus, past participle of officiāre "to perform a function, perform priestly duties," going back to Late Latin officiārī "to perform a function," derivative of Latin officium "duty, office"

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for officiate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate

Kids Definition

officiate

verb

of·​fi·​ci·​ate ə-ˈfish-ē-ˌāt 

officiated; officiating

1

: to perform a ceremony

officiate at a wedding

2

: to act as an officer

officiated at the annual meeting

3

: to enforce the rules of (a game or sport)

officiate a soccer match