federate

1 of 2

adjective

fed·​er·​ate ˈfe-d(ə-)rət How to pronounce federate (audio)
: united in an alliance or federation : federated

federate

2 of 2

verb

fed·​er·​ate ˈfe-də-ˌrāt How to pronounce federate (audio)
federated; federating

transitive verb

: to join in a federation

Examples of federate in a Sentence

Verb The independent provinces were federated to form a nation. in the years following World War II, the U.S. and the nations of western Europe made the decision to federate as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Recent Examples on the Web
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Verb
Nobody, however, brought up the rise of decentralized and federated social-media platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon. PC Magazine, 1 Nov. 2025 Malaysia's story illuminates how diverse communities can federate while preserving distinct identities. Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025 Key steps include: Building A Robust Data Ecosystem Determining the optimal data ecosystem architecture, whether centralized or federated, involves balancing coordination with domain-specific needs, governance and scalability to maximize data value. Tina Chakrabarty, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025 The nonprofit Ebell Club was chartered and federated on March 9, 1984, and since that time members have raised more than $300,000 for numerous philanthropies both within the community, as well as national organizations. Sharon Hlapcich, Orange County Register, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Latin foederatus, from foeder-, foedus

First Known Use

Adjective

1672, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1580, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of federate was in 1580

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Federate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/federate. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

federate

verb
fed·​er·​ate
ˈfed-ə-ˌrāt
federated; federating
: to join in a federation

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