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

The conference is contracted with an officiating consortium operated by the Big Ten, which has drawn criticism for sending inexperienced, underqualified crews while its top referees work games in the Midwest. —Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026

Bill Young, another member of Adventure and Vow (an adventure elopement photography, videography and planning team), officiated the ceremony. —Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026

Then there’s the inevitable outrage from some corners over whatever the playoff format decision turns out to be, on top of the usual displeasure about officiating and the quality of racing that has happened in every NASCAR season since before social media existed. —Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2026

The officiating team then moved the line of scrimmage to where Dowdle picked the ball up, to force a second-and-17, a drive-stunting turn of events. —Diamond Vences, Charlotte Observer, 5 Jan. 2026

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