Meaning & use
officiates
Last updated
“officiates” is a form of “officiate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
Acts as the person in charge at a ceremony, such as a wedding or a funeral.
Grammar: No direct object; often followed by at: she officiates at weddings.
Patterns
- officiate at something
The judge officiates at the ceremony every June.
A family friend officiates at their wedding.
The priest officiates at the evening service.
verbtransitive or intransitivesport
Serves as the referee or umpire who enforces the rules in a sports match.
Grammar: Can take an object (officiates the game) or stand alone (he officiates in the league).
Patterns
- officiate a match
- officiate in a league
She officiates the Saturday soccer games.
A veteran referee officiates the final.
He officiates in the local basketball league.
Word forms
| base form | officiate |
|---|---|
| past tense | officiated |
| past participle | officiated |
| -ing form | officiating |
Common combinations
- officiates at a wedding
- My uncle officiates at weddings as a hobby.
- officiates a game
- She officiates a game almost every weekend.
- officiates over
- The mayor officiates over the opening of the new bridge.
- officiates at a funeral
- The minister officiates at funerals in the village.
- officiates in the league
- He officiates in the youth league.
Synonyms and how they differ
- presides
- Presides suggests leading a meeting or ceremony from a position of authority, with no sense of enforcing rules as in sport.
- referees
- Referees is specific to sport and is the everyday word, whereas officiates sounds more formal.
- umpires
- Umpires is used for particular sports such as baseball or tennis, while officiates covers any sport and also ceremonies.
- conducts
- Conducts is used mainly for ceremonies or services and does not apply to sports.
Opposites
Word family
- official noun
- a person who holds an authorized position
- official adjective
- authorized or formal
- officiation noun
- the act of officiating
- officiator noun
- the person who officiates
Commonly confused: officiates or officiates vs. offices?
officiates vs officiates vs. offices
Offices are workplaces or positions of authority, while officiates is a verb meaning to lead or referee.
Practice
Sam's cousin is a licensed minister and ___ at the wedding next week.
Choose one answer.
Officiates at a wedding means leading the ceremony. Presents and manages are different actions, and conducts to is not a normal pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “officiates”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.