dating 1 of 2

as in romance
the series of social engagements shared by a couple looking to get married their dating had been going on for so long that she was starting to wonder if she'd ever take that trip down the aisle

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dating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of date
1
as in accompanying
to go on a social engagement with I don't want to date him—I'd rather just be friends

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2
as in courting
to go on dates that may eventually lead to marriage we dated for two years before we got engaged

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dating
Noun
Researchers sent a sample of bone from the skeleton to the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre for carbon dating, which placed it between 987 and 1052 CE, in the late Anglo-Saxon period. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 22 Oct. 2026 To get to the bottom of the mystery of the article’s spurious dating, Cade and a team of researchers from around the globe sifted through historic reports and observations of geomagnetic activity to set the record straight. — Mike McRae 15, New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2026 Their accounts demonstrate how AI is blurring the line between what's real and what's fake in the already fraught arena of online dating. — Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026 After a year of dating, they got engaged and bought a home together in Inverness, a city in Central Florida. — Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026 Affordability is a key player in the shift from dinner dates to breakfast or coffee, as the cost of dating has risen in recent years. — Sadie Chafe, FOXNews.com, 4 Oct. 2026 Thus far her novels have covered hockey romance, fake dating, cowboys, football and more. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026 Episode 2 will feature actor, writer and comedian Sophia Sherman and special guest Count Dracula discussing 400 years of dating and situationships. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026 Regularly talk to them about what constitutes a healthy friendship or dating relationship and what respect looks like. — Sherri Gordon, Parents, 23 Sep. 2026
Verb
Utilizing modern technology Still, the latest excavation gives researchers an opportunity to reexamine longstanding questions with advances in scientific dating methods. — Michele Chabin, Sun Sentinel, 27 Oct. 2026 The current tallest building in West Hollywood is the 31-story Sierra Towers, a luxury condominium building on the city’s western border with Beverly Hills dating to the 1960s that has long been a celebrity haunt. — Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026 The pair began dating in 2003, were engaged in 2005 and broke up in 2006. — News Editor, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026 The iMac targets general consumers and home-office users, dating way back to the iMac G3 that came in several colors in the early aughts. — Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 26 Oct. 2026 There are a bunch of people who are married to or dating people at different frontier AI companies. — Nilay Patel, The Verge, 26 Oct. 2026 The comedian on being the subject of a Judd Apatow documentary, her passion for open-book accounting, and dating in her fifties. — Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2026 The Bucs had played 12 straight one-score games dating to last season before Sunday. — ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026 That production is the wrinkle that elevates Seventhirty’s lyrics from modern dating podcast material to pure melodrama. — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dating
Noun
  • The couple first sparked romance rumors in November 2025 after they were photographed together in New York City.
    — Danielle Minnetian, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Genres run from crime thrillers and detective mysteries to folklore horror, social and courtroom drama, and romance.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 22 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • American nationals are among those who have come under attack while accompanying Palestinian farmers on their harvests.
    — Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026
  • There's a kernel of truth to it; Ohtani was clearly limited by several injuries down the stretch, with a lengthy slump accompanying an increase in chase rate and swing and miss.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The bottom line is that Taverner did compromise herself by taking Cantor’s money, but that money was used for an operation against Russia, the country Cantor has been courting to expand his media empire.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
  • In the last few months, Raman and Bass have both been courting supporters of Spencer Pratt, the conservative reality television personality who got 26% of the vote in June’s primary by running an anti-establishment, tough on crime campaign.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 19 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Media coverage of Kreiz’s courtship of Rice is one of the spurs that pushed Netflix to make the move on a hire that will have ripple effects across its expansive film and TV operations.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 17 Oct. 2026
  • During their courtship, Uncle Jack would often bring Aunt Jackie over for dinner and a movie.
    — Kerry Kennedy, Vanity Fair, 13 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The reforms focus on eligibility and work requirements for able-bodied adults, which can also be satisfied by attending school, participating in job training, or volunteering.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Jenna Luna, who also has two children attending Stove Prairie, said the possibility of losing their school came as a surprise.
    — Dillon Thomas, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Dating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dating. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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