officiate

verb

of·​fi·​ci·​ate ə-ˈfi-shē-ˌāt 

officiated; officiating

intransitive verb

1

: to perform a ceremony, function, or duty

officiate at a wedding

2

: to act in an official capacity : act as an official (as at a sports contest)

transitive verb

1

: to carry out (an official duty or function)

2

: to serve as a leader or celebrant of (a ceremony)

3

: to administer the rules of (a game or sport) especially as a referee or umpire

officiation

ə-ˌfi-shē-ˈā-shən 

noun

Examples of officiate in a Sentence

The bishop officiated the memorial Mass.

Two referees officiated the hockey game.

Recent Examples on the Web

Two of his fouls were iffy calls by an officiating crew that, despite nearly 50 seasons of combined experience, had never worked a game in Viejas Arena and only once had ever seen the Aztecs and their physical, athletic, frenetic style of defense. —Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2025

Many go back to officiating in Game 6. —The Athletic Nba Staff, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025

Also in attendance was Baby Daddy alum Derek Theler, whose wedding Peterman officiated in September 2022. —Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 11 Nov. 2025

After the couple handed Clarkson a paper with their vows and requested her to read it, the three-time Grammy Award winner joked that she wasn’t officially allowed to officiate. —Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 10 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin officiātus, past participle of officiāre "to perform a function, perform priestly duties," going back to Late Latin officiārī "to perform a function," derivative of Latin officium "duty, office"

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for officiate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

officiate

verb

of·​fi·​ci·​ate ə-ˈfish-ē-ˌāt 

officiated; officiating

1

: to perform a ceremony

officiate at a wedding

2

: to act as an officer

officiated at the annual meeting

3

: to enforce the rules of (a game or sport)

officiate a soccer match