denote

verb

de·note | \ di-ˈnōt

, dē-\

denoted; denoting; denotes

Definition of denote

transitive verb

1 : to serve as an indication of : betoken the swollen bellies that denote starvation

2 : to serve as an arbitrary mark for red flares denoting danger

3 : to make known : announce his crestfallen look denoted his distress

4a : to serve as a linguistic expression of the notion of : mean in the southern U.S., the word "toboggan" denotes a stocking cap

b : to stand for : designate the symbol / denotes "or," "and or," or "per" An epiphany is, literally, a showing. In Christian terminology it denotes the showing of the infant Jesus to the three Magi.— David Lodge

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Examples of denote in a Sentence

The word “derby” can denote a horse race or a kind of hat. Her death denoted the end of an era.

Recent Examples on the Web

Smaller markers assigned to specific grave plots denote who is buried in that spot -- often with only their name (in my family, only first names are used for these markers). — Ask Amy, oregonlive.com, "Ask Amy: Family at odds over what to put on mother’s gravestone," 24 Aug. 2019 Smaller markers assigned to specific grave plots denote who is buried in that spot – often with only their name (in my family, only first names are used for these markers). — Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, "Mom’s grave is going to need a larger stone," 24 Aug. 2019 Gray and green denote pro-protester businesses, while red and orange represent pro-Beijing establishments. — Naomi Xu Elegant, Fortune, "How Hong Kong’s Protests Are Roiling the World’s Booming Bubble Tea Market," 22 Aug. 2019 The power-up boosters usually denoted by a bottle of nitrous oxide are now supercapacitors. — Alex Davies, WIRED, "Bored Charging Your Tesla? Play a Videogame Right in Your Car," 19 June 2019 Answers having multiple words are denoted by the number of letters in each word, separated by commas. — Quanta Magazine, "Quanta’s Science and Math Crossword Puzzle," 21 Dec. 2018 For example, Sola said the colors used by the airport to denote secure areas did not match the ones described in the CiberCuba documents. — Justin Rohrlich, Quartz, "Cuban spies reportedly infiltrated a US airport," 5 June 2019 Red orbs denote things like stop lines, cross walks and road signs. — Christopher Mims, WSJ, "The Key to Autonomous Driving? An Impossibly Perfect Map," 11 Oct. 2018 Each denotes a different level of protection from trade. — Rachel Fobar, National Geographic, "What is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species?," 3 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'denote.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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More Definitions for denote

denote

verb

English Language Learners Definition of denote

formal

of a word : to have (something) as a meaning : to mean (something)

: to show, mark, or be a sign of (something)

See the full definition for denote in the English Language Learners Dictionary

denote

verb

de·note | \ di-ˈnōt

denoted; denoting

Kids Definition of denote

1 : to serve as a mark or indication of A star on the map denotes a capital.

2 : to have the meaning of : mean "Derby" denotes a contest or a hat.

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denote

Definition of denote

Other Words from denote

Synonyms for denote

Examples of denote in a Sentence

First Known Use of denote

History and Etymology for denote

English Language Learners Definition of denote

Kids Definition of denote

denote

Definition of denote

Other Words from denote

Synonyms for denote

Examples of denote in a Sentence

First Known Use of denote

History and Etymology for denote

English Language Learners Definition of denote

Kids Definition of denote

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