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

a judge who 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 of nominate

• name
• call
• designate
• dub
• entitle
• label
• title
• term

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

Vesga, the first male Colombian actor to be nominated for an Emmy, plays a man, like Carol, who has not been infected and feels very much alone. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026

Lenz has previously turned heads with such shorts as Wannabe (2017), which got nominated for the European Film Award, and Soldat Ahmet (2021), which won several awards after its world premiere at the Visions du Réel festival in Switzerland. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 17 Aug. 2026

Also in 2002, Graham was nominated for Golden Globe Awards for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama. — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

He was nominated for six Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. — CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026

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

Rhymes for nominate

• innominate

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