What does devote mean?

Definitions for devote
dɪˈvoʊtde·vote

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word devote.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. give, dedicate, consecrate, commit, devoteverb

    give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause

    "She committed herself to the work of God"; "give one's talents to a good cause"; "consecrate your life to the church"

  2. give, pay, devoteverb

    dedicate

    "give thought to"; "give priority to"; "pay attention to"

  3. devoteverb

    set aside or apart for a specific purpose or use

    "this land was devoted to mining"

Wiktionary

  1. devoteverb

    To give one's time, focus one's efforts, commit oneself, etc. entirely for, on, or to a certain matter.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To DEVOTEverb

    Etymology: devoveo devotus, Latin.

    No devoted thing that a man shall devote unto the Lord, of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed. Lev. xxvii. 21.

    What black magician conjures up this fiend,
    To stop devoted charitable deeds? William Shakespeare, Richard III.

    While we do admire
    This virtue, and this moral discipline,
    Let’s be no stoicks, nor no stocks, I pray;
    Or so devote to Aristotle ’s checks,
    As Ovid be an outcast quite abjur’d. William Shakespeare, Tam. of the Shrew.

    They, impious, dar’d to prey
    On herds devoted to the god of day. Alexander Pope, Odyssey, b. i.

    If persons of this make should ever devote themselves to science, they should be well assured of a solid and strong constitution of body. Isaac Watts, Improvement of the Mind.

    Aliens were devoted to their rapine and despight. Dec. of Piety.

    Having once debauched their senses with the pleasures of other nations, they devoted themselves unto all wickedness. Nehemiah Grew, Cosm. Sac. b. iii. c. 3.

    Ah why, Penelope, this causeless fear,
    To render sleep’s soft blessings insincere?
    Alike devote to sorrow’s dire extreme,
    The day reflection, and the midnight dream. Alexander Pope, Odyssey.

    Yet not for thy advice, or threats, I fly
    Those wicked tents devoted; lest the wrath
    Impendent, raging into sudden flame,
    Distinguish not. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. v. l. 890.

    To destruction sacred, and devote,
    He with his whole posterity must die. John Milton, Parad. Lost.

    Goddess of maids, and conscious of our hearts,
    So keep me from the vengeance of thy darts,
    Which Niobe’s devoted issue felt,
    When, hissing through the skies, the feather’d deaths were dealt. John Dryden, Fables.

    Let her, like me, of ev’ry joy forlorn,
    Devote the hour when such a wretch was born:
    Like me to deserts and to darkness run. Nicholas Rowe, Jane Shore.

Wikipedia

  1. devote

    Saint Devota (French: Sainte Dévote; died ca. 303 AD) is the patron saint of Corsica and Monaco. She was killed during the persecutions of the Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian. She is sometimes identified with another Corsican saint named Julia, who was described in Latin as Deo devota ("devoted to God"). The description was misinterpreted as a proper name. The legend connected with her is similar to those told of other saints of the region, such as Saint Reparata and Saint Torpes.

ChatGPT

  1. devote

    To devote means to give all or a large part of one's time, effort, or resources to a particular activity, cause, or person. It can also mean to dedicate something for a particular purpose.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Devoteverb

    to appropriate by vow; to set apart or dedicate by a solemn act; to consecrate; also, to consign over; to doom; to evil; to devote one to destruction; the city was devoted to the flames

  2. Devoteverb

    to execrate; to curse

  3. Devoteverb

    to give up wholly; to addict; to direct the attention of wholly or compound; to attach; -- often with a reflexive pronoun; as, to devote one's self to science, to one's friends, to piety, etc

  4. Devoteadjective

    devoted; addicted; devout

  5. Devotenoun

    a devotee

  6. Etymology: [L. devotus, p. p.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Devote

    de-vōt′, v.t. to vow: to set apart or dedicate by solemn act: to doom: to give up wholly.—adj. Devōt′ed, given up, as by a vow: doomed: strongly attached: zealous.—adv. Devōt′edly.—ns. Devōt′edness; Devotēē′, one wholly or superstitiously devoted, esp. to religion: a fanatic; Devōte′ment (Shak.); Devō′tion, consecration: giving up of the mind to the worship of God: piety: prayer: strong affection or attachment: ardour: (pl.) prayers: (obs.) religious offerings: alms.—adj. Devō′tional.—ns. Devō′tionalist, Devō′tionist.—adv. Devō′tionally. [L. devovēre, devōtumde, a way, and vovēre, to vow.]

Editors Contribution

  1. devote

    To spend a proportionate amount of time focused on a hobby, role, responsibility, obligation or duty.

    She devoted a reasonable amount of time to her children, time with herself and time spent with the rest of her family, she led a harmonious and balanced life.


    Submitted by MaryC on April 17, 2016  

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'devote' in Verbs Frequency: #699

How to pronounce devote?

How to say devote in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of devote in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of devote in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of devote in a Sentence

  1. President Barack Obama:

    If we let the world keep warming as fast as it is, and sea levels rising as fast as they are, and weather patterns keep shifting in more unexpected ways, then before long we are going to have to devote more and more and more of our economic and military resources not to growing opportunity for our people but to adapting to the various consequences of a changing planet.

  2. Lucius Annaeus Seneca:

    Shun no toil to make yourself remarkable by some talent or other yet do not devote yourself to one branch exclusively. Strive to get clear notions about all. Give up no science entirely for science is but one.

  3. Vice President Joe Biden:

    Unless I can go to my party and the American people and say that I'm able to devote my whole heart and my whole soul to this endeavor, it would not be appropriate, and everybody talks about a lot of other factors: The other people in the race and whether I can raise the money and whether I can get an organization. That's not the factor. The factor is can I do it? Can my family?

  4. Mark Keel:

    This case is complex, and we will not rush this or any investigation. Investigative decisions we make throughout this case must withstand the scrutiny of the criminal justice process. SLED agents continue to interview possible witnesses, collect and process potential evidence, and investigate every lead with the same diligence we devote to every case, sLED agents are working tirelessly with our partners to build a case against any person responsible for the murders of Alex Murdaugh to ensure that justice is served.

  5. Frederick Winslow Taylor:

    Hardly a competent workman can be found who does not devote a considerably amount of time to studying just how slowly he can work and convince his employer that he is going at a good price.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

devote#10000#20131#100000

Translations for devote

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for devote »

Translation

Find a translation for the devote definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"devote." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/devote>.

Discuss these devote definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for devote? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    devote

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    dwell
    A abash
    B elaborate
    C abide
    D embellish

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for devote: