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
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 The same goes for his perspectives on race, dating, gender, and generational divides shaped by his upbringing in Waukegan, Illinois. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026 The key themes now are romance, dating, children or fertility, expression or hobbies—so one of these could be taking steps forward, but also sending you mixed messages about where. — Kyle Thomas, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2026 That research also cautions against treating young adults as broadly sober, so wellness-first dating is better understood as alcohol-optional. — Ashley Lynch, Charlotte Observer, 3 Sep. 2026
Verb
Fusion equations meet robotics In nuclear fusion research, Google worked with University of Maryland professor Matt Landreman to identify a broader class of counterexamples to Grad’s conjecture, a mathematical hypothesis dating to 1967. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2026 The jean is enhanced with a continuous one-piece fly dating to 1877 and is made with a single-needle construction, with no serger or overlock method. — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026 The Joint Economic Committee’s investigation sought to combat the prevalence of romance scams on platforms owned by Match Group, the biggest online dating company in the world, with a portfolio that includes Tinder, Hinge, Match and Plenty of Fish. — Vicky Nguyen, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026 European tour membership is the best alternative because the PGA Tour bans players for one year dating to their last LIV event. — ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026 Also under the Bethenny Media banner is The Core, an exclusive dating membership community. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2026 The Pittsburgh native turned the page on his high school sweetheart Nomi Leasure and entered new dating territory, a relationship with Ariana Grande, which started to percolate in early 2016. — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2026 Lewis, an employee of the Philadelphia Water Department, has a criminal history dating to 2012, according to Pennsylvania court records reviewed by Fox News Digital. — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026 Dating Derinkuyu precisely is difficult; claims of Hittite or Phrygian origins (dating roughly to the 8th to 7th centuries BCE or earlier) are common but unproven. — Maya Chawla, Architectural Digest, 12 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dating
Noun
  • Maya runs away from her pain by traveling the world, first to Portugal and then to London and Japan, but an unexpected romance forces her to confront her past and realize that there may be more than one love of her life.
    — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
  • One of his first writing jobs was actually on the 1989 ABC sitcom Anything But Love, about the romance between co-workers played by leads Curtis and comedian Richard Lewis.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • With less than two years until the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, serious questions remain about funding and coordination for the Cultural Olympiad, the arts and culture program accompanying the Games.
    — Jane Horowitz, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Anton Corbijn directed the accompanying video filmed in the California desert, which satirizes U2 as a religious cult in which women do all the heavy lifting.
    — SPIN Staff, SPIN, 15 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Was Sarandos courting Bloys for a top job at the streamer, perhaps to take the job then held by Bajaria?
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Washington also missed opportunities to build meaningful leverage over Russia, instead lavishly courting it with potential commercial deals and other incentives while pressuring Kyiv to accept Moscow’s conditions.
    — Eric Ciaramella, Foreign Affairs, 14 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • During their courtship, Uncle Jack would often bring Aunt Jackie over for dinner and a movie.
    — Kerry Kennedy, Vanity Fair, 13 Oct. 2026
  • To her, romance and courtship isn’t just ambient but invasive, robbing her of friends — both in the sense that men can’t seem to leave things platonic, while women either mock her or shun her in favor of a new date.
    — Kambole Campbell, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Visitors attending the show can step aboard more than 150 sailboats and connect with more than 500 vendors showcasing marine electronics, rigging, safety equipment, apparel, accessories and services, a news release announced.
    — Michelle Richardson, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Although Kensington Palace has yet to officially announce her attendance, royals biographer Russell Myers says this marks a significant milestone for the couple, who have made a point of attending engagements together in recent weeks.
    — Katie Nicholl, Vanity Fair, 13 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Dating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dating. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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