date

1 of 2

verb

dated; dating

transitive verb

1

: to determine the period of time to which something belongs : to determine the date (see date entry 2 sense 3) of

date an antique

dated the fossils to the Triassic period

2

: to record the time of the execution or making of : mark with the date

forgot to date the check

a letter dated the fifth of September

3

a

: to mark with characteristics typical of a particular period

b

: to show up plainly the age of

old-fashioned decor that really dates the house

4

: to make a usually romantic social arrangement to meet with : to have a date with

dated a few people in high school

intransitive verb

1

: to estimate or compute a date (see date entry 2 sense 3) or chronology : to reckon chronologically

scientific dating techniques

2

: originate

a friendship dating from college days

jewelry dating back to the 1700s

3

: to become outmoded or dated

4

: to go out on usually romantic dates

I haven't dated in 20 years.

datable adjective

or less commonly dateable

ˈdā-tə-bəl 

dater

ˈdā-tər 

noun

datable

2 of 2

adjective

dat·​able ˈdā-tə-bəl 

variants or dateable

: that may be assigned a date

a concrete and datable happening

—C. W. Shumaker

Did you know?

The word date that means “the fruit of the palm” and the word date that means “the time of an event” look alike, but they are not related. The word for the fruit can be traced back to the Greek word daktylos, meaning “finger” and “toe.” No one knows why the fruit was called by the word for finger—perhaps because of its small size and shape or the long, slender shape of the palm’s leaves. The word for “the time of an event” comes from Latin and derives from the Latin phrase data Romae, meaning “given at Rome,” an expression used before the date on letters and documents. The word data comes from the Latin word dare, “to give.” In later Latin, the word data came to be used alone to stand for the date, and it came into English as date.

Synonyms of date

Verb

• accompany
• go out (with)

Examples of date in a Sentence

Verb

She dated a couple guys during college.

He only dates younger women.

They've been dating for six months.

Don't forget to sign and date the application.

The letter was not dated.

a memo dated July 12th, 2003

Historians date the document to the early 1700s.

The ancient building was dated by a coin found in one of the rooms.

Scientists use various techniques to date fossils.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Markets are one of the oldest forms of human commerce, dating back to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. —Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 29 May 2026

The Bee reviewed Vang’s local filings dating back to her initial election in 2020, which showed that her campaign donated $9,000 between 2023 and 2025 to Sacramento nonprofit Gifts To Share, which allows people to earmark donations to the Heart and Hustle Scholarship via its website. —Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 29 May 2026

The world’s oldest shopping mall and arguably still its largest, the Grand Bazaar covers 61 streets with more than 4,000 stalls and dates back to 1461. —Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 29 May 2026

An employee didn’t put on gloves before cutting chicken, some tuna salad wasn’t dated and a chemical spray bottle needed a label. —Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English daten, derivative of date date entry 2

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing date

• at a later/future date
• birth date
• blind date
• date back
• date back to
• date from
• date line
• date of birth
• date rape
• date rape drug
• dinner date
• double date
• drop-dead date
• due date
• effective date
• expiration date
• expiry date
• heavy date
• international date line
• out-of-date
• rain date
• sell-by date
• set a date
• street date
• target date
• the international date line
• to date
• up-to-date

Rhymes for date

• ate
• bait
• bate
• cate
• crate
• eight
• fait
• fate
• fete
• frate
• freight
• gait

Kids Definition

date

1 of 3 noun

ˈdāt 

1

: the oblong edible fruit of a tall Old World palm

2

: the palm that produces dates

called also date palm

date

2 of 3 noun

1

a

: the time at which an event occurs

b

: a statement giving the time of doing or making (as of a coin or check)

2

: duration

3

: the period of time to which something belongs

4

a

: appointment sense 3

especially : a social engagement between two persons that often has a romantic character

b

: a person with whom one has a social engagement

date

3 of 3 verb

dated; dating

1

: to record the date of or on

date a letter

2

: to show or find out the date, age, or period of

date an antique

3

: to make or have a date with

4

a

: to come into existence : originate

dates from the 1400s

b

: to go as far back

dating back to childhood

5

: to show plainly the age of

decor that really dates the house

datable adjective

also dateable

ˈdāt-ə-bəl 

dater noun

Etymology

Noun

Middle English date "fruit of the palm," from early French date (same meaning), derived from Latin dactylus "date," from Greek daktylos "date," literally, "finger"

Noun

Middle English date "time of an event," from early French date (same meaning), derived from Latin data (Romae) "given (at Rome)," a phrase used in putting the date on documents, derived from dare "to give" see Word History at ¹date

Word Origin

The word date that means "the fruit of the palm" and the word date that means "the time of an event" look alike, but they are not related. The word for the fruit can be traced back to the Greek word daktylos, originally meaning "finger" and "toe." No one knows just how the fruit came to be called by the word for finger. It may be because of its size and shape or because of the slender shape of the palm leaves. Or it may be that daktylos was the closest Greek word to the word for the fruit borrowed from another language. The word for "the time of an event" comes from Latin, but the Latin word did not mean either "day" or "time." Date derives from the Latin phrase data Romae, meaning "given at Rome," an expression used before the date on letters and documents. The word data is from the Latin word dare "to give." In later Latin, the word data came to be used alone to stand for the date, and it came into English as date.