nominate

verb

nom·​i·​nate ˈnä-mə-ˌnāt 

nominated; nominating

transitive verb

1

: designate, name

the first of the commonly so nominated explorers of the American Arctic

—Vilhjalmur Stephansson

2

a

: to appoint or propose for appointment to an office or place

He was nominated to the Supreme Court.

b

: to propose as a candidate for election to office

We expect the party to nominate him for president.

c

: to propose for an honor

nominate her for player of the year

He was nominated for an Academy Award.

3

: to enter (a horse) in a race

nominatable

ˈnä-mə-ˌnā-tə-bəl 

adjective

nominator

ˈnä-mə-ˌnā-tər 

noun

nominee

ˌnä-mə-ˈnē 

noun

Synonyms

• baptize
• call
• christen
• clepe [archaic]
• denominate
• designate
• dub
• entitle
• label
• name
• style
• term
• title

Examples of nominate in a Sentence

We expect the party to nominate him for president.

The President nominated her for Attorney General.

Someone has to tell her the truth—I nominate you.

We nominated her for player of the year.

Recent Examples on the Web

Nearly two-thirds of Democratic voters say Biden should step aside and let his party nominate a different candidate, according to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released Wednesday. —Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY, 18 July 2024

If there was ever a time for the Democrats to nominate a female candidate for president, this is it. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 17 July 2024

Several new shows were nominated as well: Fallout, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, and 3 Body Problem. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 17 July 2024

Gomez was previously nominated twice for a group Emmy Award (2022-2023) in the Outstanding Comedy Series category for Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building as an executive producer. —Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 17 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin nominatus, past participle of nominare, from nomin-, nomen name — more at name

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

nominate

verb

nom·​i·​nate ˈnäm-ə-ˌnāt 

nominated; nominating

: to choose as a candidate for election, appointment, or honor

especially : to propose for office

nominated a senator for president

nominator

-ˌnāt-ər 

noun

Legal Definition

nominate

1 of 2 adjective

nom·​i·​nate

ˈnä-mə-nət, -ˌnāt

in the civil law of Louisiana : having a special or certain name compare innominate

nominate

2 of 2 transitive verb

nom·​i·​nate ˈnä-mə-ˌnāt 

nominated; nominating

1

: to appoint or propose for appointment to an office, position, or place

if the testator has nominated an executor of the will

the President…shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors

—U.S. Constitution art. II

2

: to propose as a candidate for election to office

nomination

ˌnä-mə-ˈnā-shən 

noun

Etymology

Latin nominatus, past participle of nominare to call by name, from nomin-, nomen name