MSN home
Mail
My MSN
encarta
greeting cards
encarta
®
Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
desiccant
desiccate
desiccated
desiderata
desiderative
desideratum
design
design patent
designate
designated driver
designated hitter
designation
designedly
designee
designer
designer baby
designer bug
Also available:
World English Dictionary
Dictionnaire Français
designate
des·ig·nate
[
dézzig nàyt
]
transitive verb
(
past and past participle
des·ig·nat·ed
,
present participle
des·ig·nat·ing
,
3rd person present singular
des·ig·nates
)
Definition:
1.
describe somebody or something formally:
to give somebody or something a formal description or name
(
often passive
)
2.
choose something for use:
to choose something for a particular purpose
(
usually passive
)
3.
name somebody to position:
to formally choose somebody for a job, position, or duty
4.
mark something:
to mark or indicate something
Colored pins on the map designated the new buildings.
adjective
Definition:
chosen for future post:
chosen for a particular position, while not yet actually in office
[
Late 18th century. < Latin
designat-
, past participle of
designare
"mark out" <
signum
"mark"
]
des·ig·na·tive
adjective
des·ig·na·tor
noun
des·ig·na·to·ry
adjective
Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Advertisement
MSN Privacy
Legal
Advertise
Feedback
Help
© 2009 Microsoft