commemorate

verb com·mem·o·rate \ kə-ˈme-mə-ˌrāt \

|Updated on: 6 Jun 2018

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Examples: commemorate in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of commemorate

commemorated; commemorating

transitive verb

1 : to call to remembrance

St. Andrew is commemorated on November 30.

2 : to mark by some ceremony or observation : observe

commemorate an anniversary

3 : to serve as a memorial of

a plaque that commemorates the battle

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commemorator

play \kə-ˈme-mə-ˌrā-tər\ noun

See commemorate defined for English-language learners

See commemorate defined for kids

commemorate was our Word of the Day on 06/12/2012. Hear the podcast!

Examples of commemorate in a Sentence

The festival commemorates the town's founding.
The plaque commemorates the battle that took place here 200 years ago.
Each year on this date we commemorate our ancestors with a special ceremony.

Recent Examples of commemorate from the Web

Ferg became a spokesman for the brand after meeting with its chief artistic officer Reed Krakoff, and Thursday’s show was put together to commemorate the relationship in front of his super-fans, as defined by their Spotify habits.

— dan adler, Vanities, "A$AP Ferg Shuts Down Tiffany’s," 1 June 2018
To commemorate the pilot program, the president sent a letter on the flight to Ileana Yarza, a Havana woman who had become his pen pal.

— mimi whitefield, miamiherald, "U.S., Cuba decide to make direct mail service permanent," 1 June 2018
Robert Ryan, a Lockport resident and former sign painter who started his own mural business in 1994, will create a mural to commemorate the city’s history as a transportation hub.

— Daily Southtown, "Lockport's annual summer series to celebrate art and history," 31 May 2018
Fieseler also attends to a different kind of heroism — the painstaking slog of activism that has seen the fire commemorated in plaques and public days of mourning, the seeking of sympathy from a dilatory city and church.

— parul sehgal, New York Times, "In 1973, an Arsonist Killed 32 People at a Gay Club. Why Has History Shrugged?," 29 May 2018
Meanwhile, veterans gathered at the John P. McKeon AmVets 146 In Dorchester to honor their fallen service members and commemorate their service in the annual Cedar Grove Cemetery Memorial Day parade.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Memorial Day events kick off in Boston and across region," 28 May 2018
On the 65th anniversary of Lake Mechanical in 2011, the couple donated 6,500 cupcakes to the GeorgeFest celebration to commemorate the founding of their business.

— lauren ritchie, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Couple who lived, breathed Eustis for decades died within weeks of one another," 28 May 2018
For many students, prom is an iconic night to commemorate their four years in high school and celebrate with friends.

— ryan w. miller, USA TODAY, "Prom security: Business as usual for high schools in wake of Parkland shooting," 28 Apr. 2018
Still, many of the deaths commemorated in the memory boxes happened since the collapse of the Taliban, most killed in horrific suicide bombing attacks.

— Fox News, "Memory boxes capture Afghans' pain of war, attempt to heal," 10 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'commemorate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

When you remember something, you are mindful of it. It's appropriate, therefore, that "commemorate" and other related memory-associated words (including "memorable," "memorial," "remember," and "memory" itself) come from the Latin root memor, meaning "mindful." Some distant older relatives are Old English "gemimor" ("well-known"), Greek mermēra ("care"), and Sanskrit "smarati" ("he remembers"). English speakers have been marking the memory of important events with "commemorate" since the late 16th century.

Origin and Etymology of commemorate

Latin commemoratus, past participle of commemorare, from com- + memorare to remind of, from memor mindful — more at memory

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1599

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

commemorate Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of commemorate

keep, observe, celebrate, commemorate mean to notice or honor a day, occasion, or deed. keep stresses the idea of not neglecting or violating.

- kept the Sabbath by refraining from work

observe suggests marking the occasion by ceremonious performance.

- not all holidays are observed nationally

celebrate suggests acknowledging an occasion by festivity.

- traditionally celebrates Thanksgiving with a huge dinner

commemorate suggests that an occasion is marked by observances that remind one of the origin and significance of the event.

- commemorate Memorial Day with the laying of wreaths

COMMEMORATE Defined for English Language Learners

commemorate

verb

Definition of commemorate for English Language Learners

: to exist or be done in order to remind people of (an important event or person from the past)
: to do something special in order to remember and honor (an important event or person from the past)