co·or·di·nate
kō-ˈȯrd-nət 
-ˈȯr-də-nət,
-də-ˌnāt
1
a
: equal in rank, quality, or significance
keeping the branches of government coordinate
b
: being of equal rank in a sentence
coordinate clauses
2
: relating to or marked by coordination
3
a
: being a university that awards degrees to men and women taught usually by the same faculty but attending separate classes often on separate campuses
b
: being one of the colleges and especially the women's branch of a coordinate university
4
: of, relating to, or being a system of indexing by two or more terms so that documents may be retrieved through the intersection of index terms
coordinately
adverb
coordinateness
noun
co·or·di·nate
kō-ˈȯr-də-ˌnāt
coordinated; coordinating
1
: to put in the same order or rank
2
: to bring into a common action, movement, or condition : harmonize
coordinate schedules
She'll be coordinating the relief effort.
3
: to attach so as to form a coordination complex
1
: to be or become equal in rank, quality, or significance especially so as to act or work together well
2
: to combine by means of a coordinate bond
co·or·di·nate
kō-ˈȯrd-nət
-ˈȯr-də-nət,
-də-ˌnāt
1
a
: any of a set of numbers used in specifying the location of a point on a line, on a surface, or in space
latitude and longitude coordinates
b
: any one of a set of variables used in specifying the state of a substance or the motion of a particle or momentum
2
: one who is of equal rank, authority, or importance with another
3
coordinates plural
: articles (as of clothing) designed to be used together and to attain their effect through pleasing contrast (as of color, material, or texture)
Synonyms
Examples of coordinate in a Sentence
Verb
She'll be coordinating the relief effort.
You'll have to coordinate with the sales department.
National and international relief efforts must coordinate if the operation is to be successful.
We need to coordinate our schedules.
Dancers need to coordinate their moves.
Since his illness, he has had trouble coordinating his arms and legs.
Noun
We calculated its exact coordinates.
the Nobel Memorial Award for Economic Science is universally regarded as the coordinate of the original Nobel Prizes for peace, literature, medicine, physics, and chemistry
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Recent Examples on the Web
Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 29 Nov. 2022
There exist a number of particularly useful coordinate choices for this space.
—Mark Trodden, Discover Magazine, 15 Apr. 2012
Arbery’s plays and his characters roam this coordinate plane in all directions, occupying many quadrants at once.
—Chloé Cooper Jones, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2022
The hexagons, which covered the entire enclosure, appeared to form the individual units of a grid—similar to the squares formed by the coordinate lines on a road map.
—May-Britt Moser, Scientific American, 1 Jan. 2016
The initial rollout of coronavirus vaccines in the US has been slow and messy, as states have tried coordinate plans for appointments with little federal guidance.
—Kim Lyons, The Verge, 25 Jan. 2021
The x-axis and y-axis show the two dimensions of a coordinate plane.
—Dave Linkletter, Popular Mechanics, 22 July 2022
Cedarburg City Administrator Mikko Hilvo said his Ozaukee County community has been hearing from citizens about the city's coordinate address system, too.
—Chris Foran, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2022
Doyle, who formerly served as the coordinate mayor of Cork County, Ireland, was due to visit for 2020's parade before its last-minute cancellation.
—Lauren Wethington, Detroit Free Press, 11 Mar. 2022
Colleen Long, arkansasonline.com, 7 Dec. 2023
Andrews took unpaid leave from her job and worked with MUSC to coordinate extra security for herself and her kids.
—Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica, 6 Dec. 2023
And beige, a color Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, and other stars sported this summer, is fairly easy to coordinate with other colors in your closet.
—Nicol Natale, Peoplemag, 5 Dec. 2023
Right now, Europe appears to be in recession as its banking system contracts because of the European Central Bank’s failure to coordinate its interest-rate and balance-sheet policies.
—Douglas Carr, National Review, 5 Dec. 2023
In 1972, Kissinger engineered U.S. covert action to coordinate Iranian and Israeli support of Kurdish forces fighting the pro-Soviet Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, tying down much of Iraq’s army, which Saddam might otherwise have sent to fight Israel.
—Timothy Naftali, Foreign Affairs, 1 Dec. 2023
These groups need to coordinate their efforts to make the discoveries that will address these diseases as a class.
—Olivia Casey, Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2023
In 1956, Kissinger joined the staff of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, an organization established by the children of John D. Rockefeller Jr. to coordinate the family’s philanthropic endeavors.
—Norman Kempster, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2023
Some Puerto Ricans fashion workarounds and call in favors to coordinate health care, score lifesaving pills or get elusive cardiologist referrals.
—Zoeann Murphy, Washington Post, 28 Nov. 2023
Meagan Flynn, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2023
In 1981, Glocca Morra, a U.S. company, claimed to have found the trove of gold, silver and emeralds and gave the coordinates to the Colombian government with the agreement of splitting the treasure.
—Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 6 Nov. 2023
For years, the Stellwagen sanctuary staff followed the federal policy of keeping shipwreck coordinates secret to discourage divers from looting artifacts.
—Laura Trethewey, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Sep. 2023
The reconnaissance teams fly their drones day and night, logging the coordinates of each potential target, together with an image, on an interactive map.
—Tom Soufi Burridge, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2023
But those photos can include the GPS coordinates of where they were taken, with the researchers estimating that about 10 percent of the Christie’s images had that precise geolocation.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 22 Aug. 2023
Among those detained was a rail worker in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region who was arrested in February and accused of sending the coordinates of stations where weapons shipments were offloaded.
—Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2023
Calculations of your finger coordinates are unique to glide typing, Kannan said.
—Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2023
Enlarge / Close-up of the stone object alongside the raw outline coordinates and all other artifacts used for analysis.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 19 Oct. 2023
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Adjective
The map was an attempt at a compromise between distorting the areas of continents and the angles of coordinate line.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 29 Nov. 2022
There exist a number of particularly useful coordinate choices for this space.
—Mark Trodden, Discover Magazine, 15 Apr. 2012
Arbery’s plays and his characters roam this coordinate plane in all directions, occupying many quadrants at once.
—Chloé Cooper Jones, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2022
The hexagons, which covered the entire enclosure, appeared to form the individual units of a grid—similar to the squares formed by the coordinate lines on a road map.
—May-Britt Moser, Scientific American, 1 Jan. 2016
The initial rollout of coronavirus vaccines in the US has been slow and messy, as states have tried coordinate plans for appointments with little federal guidance.
—Kim Lyons, The Verge, 25 Jan. 2021
The x-axis and y-axis show the two dimensions of a coordinate plane.
—Dave Linkletter, Popular Mechanics, 22 July 2022
Cedarburg City Administrator Mikko Hilvo said his Ozaukee County community has been hearing from citizens about the city's coordinate address system, too.
—Chris Foran, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2022
Doyle, who formerly served as the coordinate mayor of Cork County, Ireland, was due to visit for 2020's parade before its last-minute cancellation.
—Lauren Wethington, Detroit Free Press, 11 Mar. 2022
Verb
Tyson Johnston, self-governance executive director for the Quinault Indian Nation in northwest Washington state, is responsible for coordinating the relocation of their villages in the face of dangerous sea level rise.
—Colleen Long, arkansasonline.com, 7 Dec. 2023
Andrews took unpaid leave from her job and worked with MUSC to coordinate extra security for herself and her kids.
—Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica, 6 Dec. 2023
And beige, a color Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, and other stars sported this summer, is fairly easy to coordinate with other colors in your closet.
—Nicol Natale, Peoplemag, 5 Dec. 2023
Right now, Europe appears to be in recession as its banking system contracts because of the European Central Bank’s failure to coordinate its interest-rate and balance-sheet policies.
—Douglas Carr, National Review, 5 Dec. 2023
In 1972, Kissinger engineered U.S. covert action to coordinate Iranian and Israeli support of Kurdish forces fighting the pro-Soviet Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, tying down much of Iraq’s army, which Saddam might otherwise have sent to fight Israel.
—Timothy Naftali, Foreign Affairs, 1 Dec. 2023
These groups need to coordinate their efforts to make the discoveries that will address these diseases as a class.
—Olivia Casey, Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2023
In 1956, Kissinger joined the staff of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, an organization established by the children of John D. Rockefeller Jr. to coordinate the family’s philanthropic endeavors.
—Norman Kempster, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2023
Some Puerto Ricans fashion workarounds and call in favors to coordinate health care, score lifesaving pills or get elusive cardiologist referrals.
—Zoeann Murphy, Washington Post, 28 Nov. 2023
Noun
In Maryland, then-Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signed an executive order calling for a state of emergency in 2017, intending to help agencies across the state coordinate anti-opioid strategies.
—Meagan Flynn, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2023
In 1981, Glocca Morra, a U.S. company, claimed to have found the trove of gold, silver and emeralds and gave the coordinates to the Colombian government with the agreement of splitting the treasure.
—Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 6 Nov. 2023
For years, the Stellwagen sanctuary staff followed the federal policy of keeping shipwreck coordinates secret to discourage divers from looting artifacts.
—Laura Trethewey, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Sep. 2023
The reconnaissance teams fly their drones day and night, logging the coordinates of each potential target, together with an image, on an interactive map.
—Tom Soufi Burridge, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2023
But those photos can include the GPS coordinates of where they were taken, with the researchers estimating that about 10 percent of the Christie’s images had that precise geolocation.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 22 Aug. 2023
Among those detained was a rail worker in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region who was arrested in February and accused of sending the coordinates of stations where weapons shipments were offloaded.
—Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2023
Calculations of your finger coordinates are unique to glide typing, Kannan said.
—Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2023
Enlarge / Close-up of the stone object alongside the raw outline coordinates and all other artifacts used for analysis.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 19 Oct. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coordinate.' 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
Adjective, Verb, and Noun
probably back-formation from coordination
First Known Use
Adjective
1641, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
1665, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Noun
1806, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Phrases Containing coordinate
Dictionary Entries Near coordinate
Cite this Entry
“Coordinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coordinate. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
coordinate
1 of 3 adjective
co·or·di·nate
kō-ˈȯrd-nət
-ᵊn-ət
1
: equal in rank
2
: being of equal rank in a compound sentence
coordinate clauses
coordinately
adverb
coordinate
2 of 3 verb
co·or·di·nate
kō-ˈȯrd-ᵊn-ˌāt
coordinated; coordinating
1
: to make or become coordinate
2
: to work or cause to work together smoothly
coordinate
3 of 3 noun
co·or·di·nate
kō-ˈȯrd-nət
-ᵊn-ət
1
: one that is coordinate with another
2
: any of a set of numbers used to locate a point on a line or surface or in space
Medical Definition
coordinate
verb
co·or·di·nate
kō-ˈȯrd-ᵊn-ˌāt
coordinated; coordinating
: to bring into a common action, movement, or condition
coordinate muscular movements
: to function together in a concerted way
More from Merriam-Webster on coordinate
Nglish: Translation of coordinate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of coordinate for Arabic Speakers
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