nominate

verb

nom·​i·​nate ˈnä-mə-ˌnāt 

nominated; nominating

transitive verb

1

: designate, name

the first of the commonly so nominated explorers of the American Arctic

—Vilhjalmur Stephansson

2

a

: to appoint or propose for appointment to an office or place

He was nominated to the Supreme Court.

b

: to propose as a candidate for election to office

We expect the party to nominate him for president.

c

: to propose for an honor

nominate her for player of the year

He was nominated for an Academy Award.

3

: to enter (a horse) in a race

nominatable

ˈnä-mə-ˌnā-tə-bəl 

adjective

nominator

ˈnä-mə-ˌnā-tər 

noun

nominee

ˌnä-mə-ˈnē 

noun

Synonyms

• baptize
• call
• christen
• clepe [archaic]
• denominate
• designate
• dub
• entitle
• label
• name
• style
• term
• title

Examples of nominate in a Sentence

We expect the party to nominate him for president.

The President nominated her for Attorney General.

Someone has to tell her the truth—I nominate you.

We nominated her for player of the year.

Recent Examples on the Web

Production designers Eugenio Caballero (an Oscar winner for Pan’s Labyrinth) and Bárbara Enríquez (Oscar nominated for Roma) oversaw the building of four versions of Macondo to reflect the passage of time, per the story. —Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2024

Harris is the first woman of color to be nominated for president by a major party, that may be appealing to some women. —Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024

It was also nominated for, but lost, the record of the year competition. —Chris Willman, Variety, 25 Oct. 2024

In 2005, Applegate was nominated for a Tony Award for best actress in a musical after belting it out as Charity Hope Valentine in Sweet Charity. —Diana Pearl, People.com, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin nominatus, past participle of nominare, from nomin-, nomen name — more at name

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

nominate

verb

nom·​i·​nate ˈnäm-ə-ˌnāt 

nominated; nominating

: to choose as a candidate for election, appointment, or honor

especially : to propose for office

nominated a senator for president

nominator

-ˌnāt-ər 

noun

Legal Definition

nominate

1 of 2 adjective

nom·​i·​nate

ˈnä-mə-nət, -ˌnāt

in the civil law of Louisiana : having a special or certain name compare innominate

nominate

2 of 2 transitive verb

nom·​i·​nate ˈnä-mə-ˌnāt 

nominated; nominating

1

: to appoint or propose for appointment to an office, position, or place

if the testator has nominated an executor of the will

the President…shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors

—U.S. Constitution art. II

2

: to propose as a candidate for election to office

nomination

ˌnä-mə-ˈnā-shən 

noun

Etymology

Latin nominatus, past participle of nominare to call by name, from nomin-, nomen name