devote

verb de·vote \ di-ˈvōt , dē- \

|Updated on: 9 Jun 2018

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Examples: devote in a Sentence

Definition of devote

devoted; devoting

transitive verb

1 : to commit by a solemn act

devoted herself to serving God

2 : to give over or direct (time, money, effort, etc.) to a cause, enterprise, or activity

Part of the lecture was devoted to taking questions from the audience.

She devoted her life to public service.

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devotement

play \-ˈvōt-mənt\ noun

See devote defined for English-language learners

See devote defined for kids

Examples of devote in a Sentence

I conscientiously devote several hours every weekend to playing with my dog.
planning a diplomatic career, she's been intensely devoting herself to the study of foreign languages in college

Recent Examples of devote from the Web

Low-end masters Saxophone specialist Lewis devoted most of the show to playing bass guitar, which can be an especially fun role in the touring edition of Bon Iver.

— david lindquist, Indianapolis Star, "Five ways Bon Iver expanded minds at White River State Park," 6 June 2018
Shannon saw Schroeder devote more time in the weight room between his sophomore and junior seasons, taking a high-80s fastball to one that touched 95 mph this season.

— chandler rome, Houston Chronicle, "Astros select Jayson Schroeder with the 66th pick in MLB Draft," 5 June 2018
Her greatest love was her family to whom she was deeply devoted.

— courant.com, "Donna Noonan," 4 June 2018
After the incident at her swim meet, Michaela quit the sport and devoted her time to mental-illness advocacy.

— rebecca lurye, Courant Community, "Former Middletown Swimmer Putting A Face To PTSD," 3 June 2018
For decades, the audiobook market was limited by physical constraints: Listeners had to lug around cassette tapes or CDs, and bookstores devoted fewer and fewer shelves to the format.

— New York Times, "Want Michael Lewis’s Next Book? You’ll Have to Listen to It," 2 June 2018
Comey prosecuted Martha Stewart and devoted a chapter to the case in his memoir.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Floating clemency for Blagojevich, Trump diminishes the gravity of political corruption," 1 June 2018
For down our crowded streets must go men and women who are not devoted to the crowd’s customs if those streets are ever again to escape overcrowding.

— conor friedersdorf, The Atlantic, "Fly On, My Sleek Electric Bird," 30 May 2018
Human Longevity is a for-profit company devoted to applying the latest knowledge on health to spot health risks early and help people reduce those risks.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Genome pioneer Craig Venter retiring from Human Longevity; returning to JCVI," 25 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of devote

Latin devotus, past participle of devovēre, from de- + vovēre to vow

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1586

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

devote Synonyms

Phrases

get cracking, get one's act together, get with it, turn one's hand (or turn a hand);

Synonym Discussion of devote

devote, dedicate, consecrate, hallow mean to set apart for a special and often higher end. devote is likely to imply compelling motives and often attachment to an objective.