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\ ˈfāt 
\
\Definition of fate
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : the will or principle or determining cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do : destiny … fate sometimes deals a straight flush … he had no idea that he would become the right man in the right place at the right time …— June Goodfield
2a : an inevitable and often adverse outcome, condition, or end
Her fate was to remain in exile.
3a : final outcome
Congress decided the bill's fate by a single vote.
b : the expected result of normal development
prospective fate of embryonic cells
c : the circumstances that befall someone or something
did not know the fate of her former classmates
4 Fates plural : the three goddesses, Atropos, Clotho, and Lachesis, who determine the course of human life in classical mythology
fate
verb\ ˈfāt \
\fated; fating
Definition of fate (Entry 2 of 2)
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Examples of fate in a Sentence
Noun … the fate of our species is bound up with those of countless others, with which we share a habitat that we cannot long dominate … — John Gray, Times Literary Supplement, 11 Sept. 1992 So what went wrong? I ask Syd again, glancing ahead to the inevitable end. What quirk of fate, this time round, Syd, checked the great man's stride? — John le Carré, A Perfect Spy, 1986 Often there is a specified character on whom a work hinges and whose fate we follow, a Raskolnikov or a Hamlet … — Robert Penn Warren, Democracy and Poetry, 1975 The money goes down one-two-three on the table, fives and tens and twenties, and the wheel begins to spin. Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows. It's up to fate. Kismet, as they say. — Mordecai Richler, The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz, 1959
They thought they would never see each other again, but fate brought them back together.
a surprising turn of fate
One company went bankrupt, and a similar fate befell the other.
Her fate was sealed by the marriage arrangement made in her youth. Verb Given what was going on when the magazine was started, Utne Reader seems fated to have happened—it was simply an idea that fit the times. — Eric Utne, Utne Reader, March/April 1994 It was during this interregnum between the acquisition of regional power and the actual use of it that Henderson was fated to enter the picture. — Robert D. Kaplan, The Arabists, 1993 Who are my viewing companions at this hour? Dazed and confused, we are isolated in sunken couches, empty beds and cheap hotel rooms across this crumbling nation, one through MTV but fated never to meet. — Hugh Gallagher, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 1993
the warning that the lack of an advanced education will fate a person to a lifetime of below-average earnings
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun This doesn't look likely to change soon, with millennials enduring reduced social and economic progress and Generation Z now facing a similar fate.
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Zamira Rahim, CNN, "Why Gen Z will be hit the hardest by the financial fallout from coronavirus," 13 May 2020 Who wouldn’t do everything in their power to avoid such a disappointing fate?
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Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, "Can Anyone Be On Listen To Your Heart For The Right Reasons?," 27 Apr. 2020 Parchman isn't immune from a similar fate, Acevedo believes.
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NBC News, "Fear of coronavirus reaching Mississippi prisons worries advocates," 27 Mar. 2020 The kasmiri aloo befell a similar fate — this potato dish losing any crispy texture it was given in the kitchen and the spices decorating the exterior of each potato slice somehow falling flat.
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Lindsey Mcclave, The Courier-Journal, "This Indian restaurant in Middletown serves flavorful dishes flecked with vibrant spices," 18 Mar. 2020 Voters seem to have decided on a similar fate for him this time round.
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The Economist, "Berning out Working-class whites deserted Bernie Sanders in the Midwest," 12 Mar. 2020 Previous companies that deployed low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites went bankrupt, a fate SpaceX is trying to avoid, Musk said.
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Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, "Elon Musk: Starlink latency will be good enough for competitive gaming," 10 Mar. 2020 But unlike tragic heroes, who are doomed by their temperament from the start, humans can steer themselves toward a better fate.
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Nicole Graev Lipson, Washington Post, "How recognizing my child’s ‘tragic flaw’ made me a better parent," 28 Feb. 2020 While most of the human members of the Soul Squad walked through the door to leave the Good Place forever, fan-favorite Tahani chose a different fate: becoming the first human architect.
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Laura Hanrahan, Woman's Day, "Jameela Jamil Says 'Good Place' Character Tahani Will Stay There "Forever and Ever"," 6 Feb. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Having deliberately committed to another country, as opposed to lazily acquiescing to fate like the native-born, many recent immigrants are especially passionate about their new home and less likely to take its benefits for granted.
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Lionel Shriver, Harper's magazine, "Patrios," 16 Sep. 2019 Shiru’s logo is made entirely of circles and represents cultural exchange or connections of students and companies, which also alludes to fate or destiny.
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Fox News, "Students ‘pay’ for coffee with personal data," 4 Oct. 2018
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for fate
fate
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of fate
: a power that is believed to control what happens in the future
: the things that will happen to a person or thing : the future that someone or something will have
See the full definition for fate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
fate
noun\ ˈfāt \
\Kids Definition of fate
1 : a power beyond human control that is believed to determine what happens : destiny It was fate that brought them together.
2 : something that happens as though determined by fate : fortune She stood … watching the sad fate of her comrades …— L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz
3 : final outcome
Voters will decide the fate of the election.
fate
noun\ ˈfāt \
\Medical Definition of fate
: the expected result of normal development
prospective fate of embryonic cells
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