How to Use designate in a Sentence

designate

1 of 2 verb
  • The wooden stakes designate the edge of the building site.
  • The sticks designate where markers will be placed at each grave.
    — Jeffrey Bennett, Time, 5 Jan. 2026
  • Teams cannot designate a trade as post-June 1.
    — Daniel Popper, New York Times, 29 May 2026
  • Still, the country did not designate it as a terror group.
    — Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 10 Jan. 2026
  • But the team has yet to designate him to return from IR.
    — Sam Warren, Houston Chronicle, 2 Jan. 2026
  • But there also has to be a timeframe designated and a line drawn.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2026
  • Roan designates a theme for many of her concerts to encourage fans to dress up.
    — Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 2 Oct. 2025
  • If that move were designated post-June 1 that hit would be split over the next two years.
    — Miami Herald, 16 Feb. 2026
  • And so designated not just by anyone but by a Kennedy.
    — Jeffrey Eugenides, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2026
  • Place bins under the sink that are designated for bath, hand, and face towels.
    — Rebecca Jones, Southern Living, 1 Feb. 2026
  • Skip over the dish pileup with a groovy playlist and designate some helpers to wash and dry before dinner is even served.
    — Joseph Hernandez, Bon Appetit Magazine, 21 Oct. 2025
  • But this is not the only best practice while riding a bike on city streets and designated bike trails.
    — Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
  • To date, no countries have been designated.
    — Camilla Schick, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Before coverage was paused, the bank had designated the stock as a hold.
    — Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 4 Mar. 2026
  • The safe servings designated were broken down by age, either child or adult.
    — Molly Burford, Southern Living, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Plan ahead for reservations and designate a sober driver.
    — CBS News, 18 June 2026
  • Frances also designated one of the bedrooms for just Smokey's golf gear.
    — Julie Tremaine, Peoplemag, 10 Oct. 2023
  • On maps, interstates are designated with a blue and red shield, Echelle said.
    — Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Twenty-eight of these units will be designated for low-income earners .
    — Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2026
  • The singer and his wife certainly use it to its full extent, designating each floor to its own purpose.
    — Kara Nesvig, Peoplemag, 26 Nov. 2023
  • The structure has been designated a historic landmark in the city.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 26 Feb. 2026
  • In certain areas there are also hiking routes, designated by posts that stick up through the sand.
    — Geoffrey Morrison, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
  • Tourism Australia designates one of its beaches as the nation’s finest.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Part of the hold-up with Chubb, who turns 30 before next season, may be how to designate his cut.
    — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 16 Feb. 2026
  • Customers lined up next to the posts that used to designate the boarding groups just hours before, though the numbers were no longer there.
    — Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 28 Jan. 2026
  • An area is also designated for skateboarders who used to frequent the old space.
    — Siafa Lewis, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2026
  • They might even be printed right on the cord jacket, designated by the letter W.
    — Louise Parks, Martha Stewart, 13 Mar. 2026
  • The plan designates additional fees per acre, based on the size of the project, paid to acquire and preserve the land.
    — Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 23 Sep. 2025
  • There is always another option — call a ride, designate a driver, make a plan.
    — Joseph Buczek, CBS News, 14 May 2026
  • Move those sponges to your bathroom, where they can be designated for this room specifically.
    — Melissa Epifano, The Spruce, 27 May 2026

designate

2 of 2 adjective
  • This makes sense for those who would rather self-designate as authors than paint the house or mow the lawn.
    — Peter Funt, WSJ, 21 Mar. 2021
  • Stock up on your teen's favorite snacks and drinks and designate a spot for kids to lay out their sleeping bags.
    — Nicole Johnson, Good Housekeeping, 29 Mar. 2023
  • Aim for one load per day, depending on your household size, or designate a day to tackle it all.
    — Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Use bins or baskets to keep items contained and designate a spot for everything.
    — Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Aug. 2023
  • The second option is to designate spaces meant for rest—such as bedrooms—as screen-free zones.
    — Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Each student would serve their first year as a nonvoting regent-designate.
    — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
  • For example, designate one corner for a home office and use the other side of the room as a workout space.
    — Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 July 2021
  • It was supposed to have the power to, among other things, designate inspectors for the enforcement of the law.
    — Hazlitt, 30 Aug. 2023
  • Use wooden fencing to section off areas of your patio or designate different uses for your lawn.
    — Alyssa Longobucco, House Beautiful, 24 Mar. 2023
  • All the Colts would have to do is designate Rodrigo Blankenship for return.
    — Joel A. Erickson, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Dec. 2021
  • Install a colorful panel in the laundry room to label clothes hampers or designate drop zones for bookbags and sports equipment.
    — Grace Haynes, Southern Living, 2 July 2021
  • Both universities will reopen their dorms and designate sections for students who have to quarantine in the event of an outbreak.
    — Krista Torralva, ExpressNews.com, 6 Aug. 2020
  • Before leaving, designate someone trusted to manage questions and handle issues that may arise in your absence.
    — Tiara Green, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
  • Nevada is among 26 other states allowing voters to more broadly designate someone to drop off their ballot.
    — Michelle L. Price, chicagotribune.com, 15 Aug. 2020
  • The provision says governors can decide whether to opt in to the program and designate which scholarship groups can participate in it.
    — Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 10 July 2025
  • Others took aim at a law that allows council members to designate schools, libraries and other facilities as off-limits for camping.
    — David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2022
  • So many have formed that the hurricane center has used up all the names on its official list and has resorted to the Greek alphabet to designate systems.
    — Brian K Sullivan, Bloomberg.com, 6 Oct. 2020
  • To organize items, users simply designate destinations such as laundry baskets, toy bins, or trash cans using clip-on fiducial markers.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 16 June 2026
  • The Republican demand to designate cartels terrorist groups is not new.
    — Mary Beth Sheridan, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2023
  • That's where a user can enter a list of IP addresses and designate which computers someone can use to withdraw funds from the account.
    — Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2022
  • To ensure success, designate staff to manage the initiative and be sure to provide timely and exhaustive feedback to employees.
    — Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 6 Apr. 2022
  • Try This Instead To avoid cross-contamination, designate one sponge for each purpose.
    — Elizabeth Brownfield, Southern Living, 23 Apr. 2026
  • Try This Instead To avoid cross-contamination, designate one sponge for each purpose.
    — Elizabeth Brownfield, Southern Living, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Members attend all Broadway productions throughout the season and designate by vote the nominees for the season.
    — Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 July 2023
  • In the runup to the return, designate someone to provide information about what the company is doing to help promote employee well-being.
    — Paul McDonald, Forbes, 13 Apr. 2022
  • The act doesn't allow a president to designate classified or official records as personal before taking them, Baron said.
    — Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY, 23 June 2023
  • Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati has vowed to hold the culprits accountable.
    — Cnn Staff, CNN, 16 Dec. 2022
  • The state police set up concrete barriers Thursday night to segregate protesters and designate spaces to demonstrate.
    — Daniella Silva, NBC news, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has stepped down just nine months after he was tasked with forming the country's next government.
    — Aj Willingham, CNN, 16 July 2021
  • The face was marked with tattoos to designate identity and status, according to the Smithsonian magazine.
    — Lianne Kolirin, CNN, 14 June 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'designate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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