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officiate

/əˈfɪʃieɪt/

/əˈfɪʃieɪt/

Other forms: officiating; officiated; officiates

To officiate is to preside over a ceremony, or to be the person in charge. At most weddings, a religious leader or judge officiates.

A rabbi might officiate during your cousin's wedding, or the happy couple might ask a friend to officiate. When an official acts in some official way, they also officiate. A referee, for example, officiates at a hockey game, and a town's mayor might officiate at the grand opening of a new library. Officiate, as of the seventeenth century, mainly meant "perform the duty of a priest," from the Latin root officium, "kindness," or "official duty," and also "church service."

Definitions of officiate
  1. verb
    act in an official capacity in a ceremony or religious ritual, such as a wedding
    “Who officiated at your wedding?”
    see moresee less
    types:
    marry, splice, tie, wed
    perform a marriage ceremony
    solemnise, solemnize
    perform (the wedding ceremony) with proper ceremonies
    type of:
    perform
    perform a function
  2. verb
    perform duties attached to a particular office or place or function
    “His wife officiated as his private secretary”
    synonyms: function
    see moresee less
    type of:
    serve
    do duty or hold offices; serve in a specific function
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘officiate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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