dominate
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to have power or control over a person, group, or place.
v.to govern, rule, or control by superior authority or power. Transitive — requires a direct object.
Simple“The large company began to dominate the local market, making it hard for small shops to survive.”
In context“Throughout the nineteenth century, the empire sought to dominate the region through a combination of military presence and strategic trade alliances.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to be the most noticeable or important part of something.
v.to exert an overwhelming guiding influence or to be the most prominent feature in a specific context.
Simple“The tall clock tower dominates the city skyline.”
In context“Discussions regarding the new environmental policy are expected to dominate the upcoming summit, leaving little time for other agenda items.”
Synonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
v.to be much taller than the things around it so you can see over them.
v.to overlook from a height; to have a commanding physical position over the surrounding terrain.
Simple“The castle was built on a hill to dominate the valley below.”
In context“The fortress was strategically positioned to dominate the mountain pass, ensuring that no army could advance without being observed.”
Synonymsoverlooktower over - 04 C2 Proficiency
v.in computer science, when one point in a map must be passed before reaching another.
v.to precede another node of a directed graph in all paths from the start of the graph to that node.
Simple“In this flow chart, the start node dominates all other points in the system.”
In context“The compiler uses a dominator tree to identify blocks of code that are guaranteed to execute before a specific branch is taken.”
- 05 C2 Proficiency
n.the later period of the Roman Empire when the emperors had total power.
n.The late period of the Roman Empire characterized by explicit autocracy, following the more republican-styled principate.
Simple“Historians study the Dominate to understand how the Roman government changed over time.”
In context“The transition from the Principate to the Dominate marked a significant shift toward a more bureaucratic and ceremonial style of imperial rule.”
UsageUsually capitalized as 'the Dominate'.
Usage dominate by
“Tanzid Hasan Tamim becomes the first Bangladesh cricketer to score a Test century in Australia as the visitors continued to dominate on day two in Darwin.”
“Tanzid Hasan became the first Bangladeshi to score a Test century in Australia as the visitors dominated to reach 351-6 at stumps on the second day of the first Test in Darwin.”
Borrowed from Latin dominātus, perfect active participle of dominor (“to rule, have dominion”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from dominus (“lord, master”) + -or (verb-forming suffix).
Ultimately from Latin dominor (“rule, have dominion”), either from Latin dominātus, the perfect active participle of dominor (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), or via phonetic alteration of the synonym dominant, from Latin domināns, the present active participle of the same. Compare the pairs predominate / predominant and obstinate / obstinant.
Borrowed from Latin dominātus (“rule, command”), from dominus + -ātus, see -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office, a regime handled by people of such rank).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.