ENGLISH
REFERENCE

dedicate

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈdɛdəˌkeɪt// UK //dˈɛdɪkˌeɪt// ded·i·cate Archaic

v. to give your time, energy, or attention to a specific task or person. You use this when you focus on one goal instead of many.

v. to devote time, effort, or resources to a particular purpose or person. Transitive; typically followed by 'to' when indicating the recipient or goal.


SIMPLE

She dedicates two hours to reading every night.

CONTEXTUAL

The company dedicates a portion of its profits to environmental conservation projects.

COMPLEX

He dedicated his life's work to preserving the oral histories of indigenous communities before they vanished.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English dedicaten (“to dedicate”), from dedicat(e) (“dedicated”, also used as the past participle of dedicaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), from Latin dēdicātus, the perfect passive participle of dēdicō (“to dedicate, proclaim”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Etymology 2

from Middle English dedicat(e) (“dedicated”, also used as the past participle of dedicaten), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. The nouns is derived through substantivization from Latin dēdicātus, see -ate (noun-forming suffix).

Usage

The verb is transitive. It often takes the structure 'dedicate [something] to [someone/something]'.

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