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celebrate
5 dictionary results for: celebrate
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
cel·e·brate       [sel-uh-breyt] Pronunciation Key verb, -brat·ed, -brat·ing.
–verb (used with object)
1.to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event) with ceremonies or festivities: to celebrate Christmas; to celebrate the success of a new play.
2.to make known publicly; proclaim: The newspaper celebrated the end of the war in red headlines.
3.to praise widely or to present to widespread and favorable public notice, as through newspapers or novels: a novel celebrating the joys of marriage; the countryside celebrated in the novels of Hardy.
4.to perform with appropriate rites and ceremonies; solemnize: to celebrate a marriage.
–verb (used without object)
5.to observe a day or commemorate an event with ceremonies or festivities.
6.to perform a religious ceremony, esp. Mass or the Lord's Supper.
7.to have or participate in a party, drinking spree, or uninhibited good time: You look like you were up celebrating all night.
[Origin: 1425–75; late ME < L celebrātus ptp. of celebrāre to solemnize, celebrate, honor, equiv. to celebr- (s. of celeber) often repeated, famous + -ātus -ate1]

—Related forms
cel·e·bra·tive, adjective
cel·e·bra·tor, cel·e·brat·er, noun
cel·e·bra·to·ry       [sel-uh-bruh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, suh-leb-ruh-] Pronunciation Key, adjective

—Synonyms 1. honor, solemnize. 3. laud, glorify, honor, applaud, commend.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
cel·e·brate       (sěl'ə-brāt')  Pronunciation Key 
v.   cel·e·brat·ed, cel·e·brat·ing, cel·e·brates

v.   tr.
  1. To observe (a day or event) with ceremonies of respect, festivity, or rejoicing. See Synonyms at observe.
  2. To perform (a religious ceremony): celebrate Mass.
  3. To extol or praise: a sonnet that celebrates love.
  4. To make widely known; display: "a determination on the author's part to celebrate . . . the offenses of another" (William H. Pritchard).

v.   intr.
  1. To observe an occasion with appropriate ceremony or festivity.
  2. To perform a religious ceremony.
  3. To engage in festivities: went out and celebrated after the victory.


[Middle English celebraten, from Latin celebrāre, celebrāt-, to frequent, celebrate, from celeber, celebr-, frequented, famous.]

cel'e·bra'tion n., cel'e·bra'tor n., cel'e·bra·to'ry (sěl'ə-brə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē, sə-lěb'rə-) adj.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
celebrate 
1465, from L. celebratus pp. of celebrare "to frequent in great numbers, assemble to honor," from celeber "frequented, populous." Celebrated "much-talked-about" is from 1665.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
celebrate

verb
1. behave as expected during of holidays or rites; "Keep the commandments"; "celebrate Christmas"; "Observe Yom Kippur" [syn: observe] 
2. have a celebration; "They were feting the patriarch of the family"; "After the exam, the students were celebrating" 
3. assign great social importance to; "The film director was celebrated all over Hollywood"; "The tenor was lionized in Vienna" [syn: lionize] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Celebrate

Cel"e*brate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Celebrated; p. pr. & vb. n. Celebrating.] [L. celebratus, p. p. of celebrare to frequent, to celebrate, fr. celeber famous.]

1. To extol or honor in a solemn manner; as, to celebrate the name of the Most High.

2. 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.

From even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath. --Lev. xxiii. 32.

3. To perform or participate in, as a sacrament or solemn rite; to solemnize; to perform with appropriate rites; as, to celebrate a marriage.

Syn: To commemorate; distinguish; honor.

Usage: To Celebrate, Commemorate. We commemorate events which we desire to keep in remembrance, when we recall them by some special observace; as, to commemorate the death of our Savior. We celebrate by demonstrations of joy or solemnity or by appropriate ceremonies; as, to celebrate the birthday of our Independence.

We are called upon to commemorate a revolution as surprising in its manner as happy in its consequences. --Atterbury.

Earth, water, air, and fire, with feeling glee, Exult to celebrate thy festival. --Thomson.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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