date

UK: /ˈdeɪt/ US: /deɪt/ ,(dāt)

Inflections of 'date' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

dates

v 3rd person singular

dating

v pres p

dated

v past

dated

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

date¹ /deɪt/   n., v., dat•ed, dat•ing. 
n. [countable]

1. time in terms of the month, day, and year at which some event happened or will happen:
   an important date in American history.
2. the particular day of the month:
   Is today's date the 7th or the 8th?
3. the time shown on a letter, document, coin, etc.:
   a letter bearing the date January 16.
4. the time or period to which something belongs:
   can meet again at a later date.
5. an appointment for a particular time, esp. a social meeting:
   I took her out on a date. We made a date for next week.
6. a person with whom one has such an appointment:
   Can I bring a date to the party?
7. Show Business an engagement (of a band, acting group, etc.) to perform;
   booking:
   the group's next date in Tennessee.

v. 

8. to belong to a particular period;
   start or exist from: [no obj]:
   The architecture dates as far back as 1830.
   [~ + from + object]
   The letter dates from 1873.
   [~ + back + to + object]
   The custom dates back to the Victorian era.
9. to go out socially on dates (with): [no object]
   She's not old enough to be dating.
   [ ~ + obj]:
   He's dating his best friend's sister.
10. [ ~ + obj] to mark or furnish with a date:
    The word processor dates your document automatically.
11. [ ~ + obj] to estimate the period or time of:
    a new method to date archaeological ruins.
12. [ ~ + obj] to show the age of:
    Singing those tunes from the 1950's really dates me.

Idioms

13. Idioms to date, up to the present time;
    until now:
    We've seen nothing to date that would change our minds.
14. Idioms up to date, in accord with the latest styles, information, or technology:
    fashion that is always up to date;
    Our new computers are up to date;
    the up-to-date office communication systems.

dat•a•ble, date•a•ble, adj. 
dat•er, n. [countable]

date² /deɪt/   n. [countable]

1. Plant Biology, Food the oblong, brown, sweet, fleshy fruit of a palm tree growing in hot climates.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

date¹  (dāt), n., v., dat•ed, dat•ing. 
n. 

1. a particular month, day, and year at which some event happened or will happen:
   July 4, 1776 was the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
2. the day of the month:
   Is today's date the 7th or the 8th?
3. an inscription on a writing, coin, etc., that shows the time, or time and place, of writing, casting, delivery, etc.:
   a letter bearing the date January 16.
4. the time or period to which any event or thing belongs;
   period in general:
   at a late date.
5. the time during which anything lasts;
   duration:
   The pity is that childhood has so short a date.
6. an appointment for a particular time:
   They have a date with their accountant at ten o'clock.
7. a social appointment, engagement, or occasion arranged beforehand with another person:
   to go out on a date on Saturday night.
8. a person with whom one has such a social appointment or engagement:
   Can I bring a date to the party?
9. an engagement for an entertainer to perform.
10. dates, the birth and death dates, usually in years, of a person:
    Dante's dates are 1265 to 1321.
11. Idioms to date, up to the present time;
    until now:
    This is his best book to date.
12. Idioms up to date, in agreement with or inclusive of the latest information;
    modern:
    Bring us up to date on the news.

v.i. 

13. to have or bear a date:
    The letter dates from 1873.
14. to belong to a particular period;
    have its origin:
    That dress dates from the 19th century. The architecture dates as far back as 1830.
15. to reckon from some point in time:
    The custom dates from the days when women wore longer skirts.
16. to go out socially on dates:
    She dated a lot during high school.

v.t. 

17. to mark or furnish with a date:
    Please date the check as of today.
18. to ascertain or fix the period or point in time of;
    assign a period or point in time to:
    The archaeologist dated the ruins as belonging to the early Minoan period.
19. to show the age of;
    show to be old-fashioned.
20. to make a date with;
    go out on dates with:
    He's been dating his best friend's sister.

• Late Latin data, noun, nominal use of data (feminine of datus, past participle of dare to give), from the phrase data (Romae) written, given (at Rome); (verb, verbal) Middle English daten to sign or date a document, derivative of the noun, nominal
• Middle French
• (noun, nominal) Middle English 1275–1325

dat′a•ble, date′a•ble, adj. 
dat′a•ble•ness, date′a•ble•ness, n. 
dat′er, n. 

date²  (dāt), n. 

1. Plant Biology, Food the oblong, fleshy fruit of the date palm, a staple food in northern Africa, Arabia, etc., and an important export.

• Latin dactylus; see dactyl
• Medieval Latin datil(l)us (Old Provencal, Catalan, Spanish datil)
• Anglo-French; Old French dade, date
• Middle English 1250–1300

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

date / deɪt/ noun

1. a specified day of the month: today's date is October 27
2. the particular day or year of an event: the date of the Norman Conquest was 1066
3. an inscription on a coin, letter, etc, stating when it was made or written
4. an appointment for a particular time, esp with a person to whom one is sexually or romantically attached: she has a dinner date
5. the person with whom the appointment is made

verb

1. (transitive) to mark (a letter, coin, etc) with the day, month, or year
2. (transitive) to assign a date of occurrence or creation to
3. (intr; followed by from or back to) to have originated (at a specified time): his decline dates from last summer
4. (transitive) to reveal the age of: that dress dates her
5. to make or become old-fashioned: some good films hardly date at all
6. to be romantically attached to (someone)
7. to accompany (someone with whom one is romantically attached) on a date

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French, from Latin dare to give, as in the phrase epistula data Romae letter handed over at Rome

ˈdatable, ˈdateable adjective

USAGE
year

date / deɪt/ noun

1. the fruit of the date palm, having sweet edible flesh and a single large woody seed
2. short for date palm

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French, from Latin, from Greek daktulos finger