commemorate
verb
com·mem·o·rate
kə-ˈme-mə-ˌrāt 
commemorated; commemorating
1
: to call to remembrance
St. Andrew is commemorated on November 30.
2
: to mark by some ceremony or observation : observe
commemorate an anniversary
3
: to serve as a memorial of
a plaque that commemorates the battle
Did you know?
When you remember something, you are mindful of it. It's appropriate, therefore, that commemorate and other related memory-associated words (including memorable, memorial, remember, and memory itself) come from the Latin root memor, meaning "mindful." English speakers have been marking the memory of important events with commemorate since the late 16th century.
Examples of commemorate in a Sentence
The festival commemorates the town's founding.
The plaque commemorates the battle that took place here 200 years ago.
Each year on this date we commemorate our ancestors with a special ceremony.
Recent Examples on the Web
Earlier on Tuesday, Dončić debuted a new ad with Jumpman to commemorate his new team.
—
Natasha Dye, People.com, 26 Feb. 2025
The Bronx native grew up rooting for the Yankees and was even able to throw out the first pitch at a game at Yankee Stadium in 2018 to commemorate his company’s 50th anniversary.
—Jean E. Palmieri, WWD, 26 Feb. 2025
Neither the Toronto Raptors nor the Los Angeles Lakers, the winners of the 2019 and 2020 NBA Finals, respectively, visited the White House during Trump's first presidency to commemorate their titles, but the Milwaukee Bucks made the trip to visit now-former President Joe Biden in November 2021.
—Ryan Morik, Fox News, 25 Feb. 2025
About two dozen friends and family members gathered at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills to commemorate what should have been his 31st birthday.
—Jeff Weiss, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commemorate
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Natasha Dye, People.com, 26 Feb. 2025
The Bronx native grew up rooting for the Yankees and was even able to throw out the first pitch at a game at Yankee Stadium in 2018 to commemorate his company’s 50th anniversary.
—Jean E. Palmieri, WWD, 26 Feb. 2025
Neither the Toronto Raptors nor the Los Angeles Lakers, the winners of the 2019 and 2020 NBA Finals, respectively, visited the White House during Trump's first presidency to commemorate their titles, but the Milwaukee Bucks made the trip to visit now-former President Joe Biden in November 2021.
—Ryan Morik, Fox News, 25 Feb. 2025
About two dozen friends and family members gathered at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills to commemorate what should have been his 31st birthday.
—Jeff Weiss, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commemorate
Cite this Entry
“Commemorate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commemorate. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
commemorate
verb
com·mem·o·rate
kə-ˈmem-ə-ˌrāt
commemorated; commemorating
1
: to call to remembrance
2
: to mark by a ceremony
3
: to be a memorial of
a plaque that commemorates the event
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