Dictionary / celebrate
celebrate
- verb
- from Latin
To extol or honour in a solemn manner.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “celebrate” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
verb
- transitiveTo extol or honour in a solemn manner.
to celebrate the name of the Most High
- transitiveTo honour by rites, by ceremonies of joy and respect, or by refraining from ordinary business; to observe duly.
to celebrate a birthday
- intransitivetransitiveTo engage in joyful activity in appreciation of an event.
I was promoted today at work—let’s celebrate!
- transitiveTo perform or participate in, as a sacrament or solemn rite; to perform with appropriate rites.
to celebrate a marriage
Cross-check: WordNet senses (3)
- verbbehave as expected during of holidays or rites — also: observe, keep
- verbhave a celebration — also: fete
- verbassign great social importance to — also: lionize, lionise
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)celebrate
- Middle Englishcelebraten
- Middle Englishcelebrat (e) + -en
- Latincelebrātus
- Latinceleber “frequented, populous”
From Middle English celebraten, from celebrat(e) (“celebrated”, also used as the past participle of celebraten) + -en, borrowed from Latin celebrātus, perfect passive participle of celebrō (“frequent, go to in great numbers, celebrate, honor, praise”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from celeber (“frequented, populous”). Displaced native Old English fæġnian and frēolsian.
Derivatives — words built from “celebrate”
Phrases & compounds
Related terms
Want to go deeper? See also “celebrate” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “celebrate” came from before it was English.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
celebrate v. t. [L. celebratus, p. p. of celebrare to frequent, to celebrate, fr. celeber famous.]
- To extol or honor in a solemn manner; as, to celebrate the name of the Most High.
- To honor by solemn rites, by ceremonies of joy and respect, or by refraining from ordinary business; to observe duly; to keep; as, to celebrate a birthday.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
verbMeaning: To extol or honour in a solemn manner.
to celebrate the name of the Most High
Instead, we retreat into our gender-segregated media spaces where the manosphere extols stoicism and the womanosphere celebrates emotional vulnerability.2024 April 17, David Sasaki, “The emotionally immature lives of men and women”, in The Time Capsule, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2024:
verbMeaning: To honour by rites, by ceremonies of joy and respect, or by refraining from ordinary business; to observe duly.
to celebrate a birthday
verbMeaning: To engage in joyful activity in appreciation of an event.
I was promoted today at work—let’s celebrate!
As Di Matteo celebrated and captain John Terry raised the trophy for the fourth time, the Italian increased his claims to become the permanent successor to Andre Villas-Boas by landing a trophy.2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 22 Apr 2022:
verbMeaning: To perform or participate in, as a sacrament or solemn rite; to perform with appropriate rites.
to celebrate a marriage
verbMeaning: behave as expected during of holidays or rites
celebrate Christmas
verbMeaning: assign great social importance to
The film director was celebrated all over Hollywood
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
celebrate
/ˈsɛl.ɪ.bɹeɪt/
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
celebrate
/ˈsɛl.ɪ.bɹeɪt/ · verb
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “celebrate” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — Which meaning is it?
“to celebrate the name of the Most High”
Circle the meaning used.
“to celebrate a birthday”
Circle the meaning used.
“I was promoted today at work—let’s celebrate!”
Circle the meaning used.
Step 4 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “celebrate” and what each means:
Step 5 — Original meaning
The earliest traceable form is Latin celeber. What did it mean?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 6 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — celebrate
Which meaning, sentence 1: A. To extol or honour in a solemn manner.
Which meaning, sentence 2: C. To honour by rites, by ceremonies of joy and respect, or by refraining from ordinary business; to observe duly.
Which meaning, sentence 3: C. To engage in joyful activity in appreciation of an event.
Origin: C. Latin (Latin celebrātus)
Journey: English celebrate ← Middle English celebraten ← Middle English celebrat + -en ← Latin celebrātus ← Latin celeber
Some derivatives: celebratable, concelebrate, over-celebrate, overcelebrate, precelebrate, recelebrate
Original meaning: Latin celeber — “frequented, populous”
Etymology: From Middle English celebraten, from celebrat(e) (“celebrated”, also used as the past participle of celebraten) + -en, borrowed from Latin celebrātus, perfect passive participle of celebrō (“frequent, go to in great numbers, celebrate, honor, praise”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from celeber (“frequented, populous”). Displaced native Old English fæġnian and frēolsian.
Sources: Wiktionary “celebrate” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/celebrate#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/celebrate