notify

verb no·ti·fy \ ˈnō-tə-ˌfī \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of notify

notified; notifying

transitive verb

1 obsolete : to point out

2 : to give notice of or report the occurrence of

He notified his intention to sue.

She notified my arrival to the governor.

3 : to give formal notice to

notify a family of the death of a relation

She notified the police about the accident.

—

notifier

play \ˈnō-tə-ˌfī(-ə)r\ noun

See notify defined for English-language learners

See notify defined for kids

Examples of notify in a Sentence

Customers were notified of the changes in the company.
I was notified that I did not get the job.

Recent Examples of notify from the Web

Hueytown Police Chief Mickey Willis said school administrators and school resource officers were notified Thursday that a student had a possible handgun in school.

— carol robinson, AL.com, "Hueytown High student detained after BB handgun found under desk," 12 Apr. 2018
According to a Republican committee aide, the amendment is also expected to require that Congress be notified prior to the removal of a special counsel with a significant lead time.

— mary clare jalonick, chicagotribune.com, "Senate committee to vote on bipartisan bill to protect special counsel Mueller's job," 12 Apr. 2018
Seale described the reappraisal process as lengthy, saying that after HCAD determines percentage damages for properties, property owners must be notified for a 45-day appeal window.

— melanie feuk, Houston Chronicle, "Humble ISD tax payers may see reimbursement based on post-Harvey property appraisal," 11 Apr. 2018
Moving forward, law enforcement will pick up kits in Lake County hospitals within 72 hours of being notified of the kit, according to Carter.

— becky jacobs, Post-Tribune, "Plans to address rape kit backlog in Lake, Porter counties under consideration by area leaders," 11 Apr. 2018
Parma High School officials were notified about the threat, police said.

— staff, cleveland.com, "Comment here on cleveland.com court and crime stories for Wednesday, April 11, 2018," 11 Apr. 2018
During the meeting, Huizar moved to eliminate that requirement, saying that neighbors would simply be notified.

— emily alpert reyes, latimes.com, "L.A. lawmakers back new regulations on Airbnb and similar rentals," 11 Apr. 2018
Robby Mook, who worked as Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, tweeted that the Clinton campaign was never notified of these attempts by Facebook.

— alyssa newcomb /, NBC News, "Zuckerberg says his data was part of Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal," 11 Apr. 2018
The lawyers first need to win preliminary approval from Gonzalez so that all eligible workers can be notified about the terms of the agreement.

— Bloomberg.com, "Women Harassed at Uber May Finally Get a Payday. But How Much?," 10 Apr. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of notify

Middle English notifien, from Anglo-French notifier to make known, from Late Latin notificare, from Latin notus known

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of notify

inform, acquaint, apprise, notify mean to make one aware of something. inform implies the imparting of knowledge especially of facts or occurrences.

- informed us of the crisis

acquaint lays stress on introducing to or familiarizing with.

- acquaint yourself with the keyboard

apprise implies communicating something of special interest or importance.

- keep us apprised of the situation

notify implies sending notice of something requiring attention or demanding action.

- notified the witness when to appear

NOTIFY Defined for English Language Learners

notify

verb

Definition of notify for English Language Learners

: to tell (someone) officially about something

NOTIFY Defined for Kids

notify

verb no·ti·fy \ ˈnō-tə-ˌfī \

Definition of notify for Students

notified; notifying

: to give notice to : inform

Please notify the school of your new address.

Medical Dictionary

notify

transitive verb no·ti·fy \ ˈnōt-ə-ˌfī \

medical Definition of notify

notified; notifying

1 British : to report the occurrence of (a case of communicable disease) or the occurrence of communicable disease in (an individual)

all cases of disease should be notified by the treating consultant
—Practitioner

2 : to give formal notice to

the Broward County Public Health Unit…was notified of three children…hospitalized with encephalitis attributed to cat scratch disease
—Journal of the American Medical Association