denote

verb

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de·note | \ di-ˈnōt

, dē- \

denoted; denoting; denotes

Definition of denote

transitive verb

1 : to serve as an indication of : betoken the swollen bellies that denote starvation

2 : to serve as an arbitrary mark for red flares denoting danger

3 : to make known : announce his crestfallen look denoted his distress

4a : to serve as a linguistic expression of the notion of : mean in the southern U.S., the word "toboggan" denotes a stocking cap

b : to stand for : designate the symbol / denotes "or," "and or," or "per" An epiphany is, literally, a showing. In Christian terminology it denotes the showing of the infant Jesus to the three Magi.— David Lodge

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Examples of denote in a Sentence

The word “derby” can denote a horse race or a kind of hat. Her death denoted the end of an era.

Recent Examples on the Web Consider this chart from the report denoting the years of experience of 9,000 respondents. — Dan Kopf, Quartz, "Designers and statisticians disagree on what makes a good information graphic," 12 Jan. 2020 Capital has three lists denoting academic distinction among full-time, degree-seeking students: The President's List indicates the highest level of academic distinction. — Sam Boyer, cleveland, "Medina County College Corner," 9 Jan. 2020 Consider this formula: impulse = mass x velocity, where impulse denotes a change in momentum of the coin. — Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, "Why You Shouldn't Throw Coins at Planes (Yes, People Do This)," 8 Jan. 2020 As elsewhere in the Midwest, the rightward shift this denoted was driven by working-class whites and flagging union membership. — The Economist, "Fahrenheit Wisconsin," 18 Dec. 2019 The queen also bestowed him with the symbols denoting the Prince of Wales: a girdle, sword, coronet, rod, and mantle. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Crown Season 3: The True Story of Prince Charles’s Younger Years," 7 Dec. 2019 There will be 200 with each Camaro SS also having a plaque denoting its sequence number. — Jeff Yip, Houston Chronicle, "Goodies will give your favorite automotive enthusiast some thrills," 29 Nov. 2019 The ladders in the game represent virtues that take the player closer to paradise, while the snakes denote vices that take him farther away from it. — Mallik Thatipalli, Quartz India, "Children once learned ethics and life lessons from board games—then PUBG came along," 13 Nov. 2019 In psychology, attunement, which is sometimes cited as a prerequisite for healthy love, denotes an ability to intuit what the other needs, and to interpret signs in the way that they were intended. — Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, "“Find Me” Is a Shallow Sequel to “Call Me By Your Name”," 21 Oct. 2019

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