notify

verb no·ti·fy \ ˈnō-tə-ˌfī \

Updated on: 13 May 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

The investigation was launched after police were notified that a body had been spotted in that section of woodland.

— gregory b. hladky, courant.com, "Body Found In Wooded Area Of Griswold," 5 May 2018
After police were notified, investigators searched the rest of the building and a nearby wooded area.

— kathleen joyce, Fox News, "Skeletal remains found in Washington, D.C. are of homicide victims: police," 5 May 2018
According to a news release from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office, the male juvenile made threatening statements to classmates Monday and was taken into custody later in the day after the classmates notified authorities.

— chicago tribune staff, Naperville Sun, "Lisle High School student in custody after alleged threat directed at school, officials say," 1 May 2018
Some time after Haley's comments on CBS, the Trump administration notified the Russian Embassy in Washington that the sanctions were not, in fact, coming, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said Monday.

— anne gearan, chicagotribune.com, "Haley says 'I don't get confused' after White House official suggests she misunderstood Russia sanctions," 18 Apr. 2018
Sometime after Haley's comments on CBS, the Trump administration notified the Russian Embassy in Washington that the sanctions were not in fact coming, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said Monday.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Trump put the brakes on new Russian sanctions, reversing Haley's announcement," 17 Apr. 2018
Sometime after Haley's comments on CBS, the Trump administration notified the Russian Embassy in Washington that the sanctions were not in fact coming, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said Monday.

— Anchorage Daily News, "Trump puts brakes on new Russian sanctions, reversing Haley’s announcement," 16 Apr. 2018
Tim Huff, who played for Kibler and has been a main booster in the program with son Kody, a top junior shortstop in the state, called for a parent meeting after Kibler notified the players.

— richard obert, azcentral, "Eric Kibler, Arizona's all-time winningest high school baseball coach, to be fired," 13 Apr. 2018
After being notified he had been called up to the NBA from the G League, White headed to San Antonio International Airport to fly to Los Angeles in time for a recent game against the Lakers.

— jabari young, San Antonio Express-News, "Off-Topic: Derrick White weighs in on his first NBAseason," 13 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