dating
noun
Simple meaning
When two people go out to see if they want a relationship
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
daytingSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdeɪtɪŋ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A form of romantic courtship typically between two individuals with the aim of assessing the other's suitability as a partner in an intimate relationship or as a spouse.
The setting of a date on which an event or transaction is to take place or take effect.
An estimation of the age of an artifact, biological vestige, linguistic usage, etc.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A form of romantic courtship typically between two individuals with the aim of assessing the other's suitability as a partner in an intimate relationship or as a spouse.
Used this way, dating is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in relationships contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Relationships
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use dating
- “Are you still dating that person from your class?”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A chemical analysis used to determine the age of organic materials based on their content of the radioisotope carbon 14.
Use of chemical analysis to estimate the age of geological specimens.
Geological dating that relies on the proportions of radioactive potassium in a rock sample and its decay product, argon.
Measurement of the amount of radioactive material (usually carbon 14) that an object contains.
A chemical analysis used to determine the age of organic materials based on their content of the radioisotope carbon 14.
Geological dating based on the proportions of radioactive rubidium into its decay product strontium.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “dating” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary in short rounds that draw from words you've learned and saved.
Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.