Standard Lemma guide

certificate

adj · noun · verb · 13 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • rhymes with -ɪfɪkət
  • rhymes with -eɪt
  • /səˈtɪf.ɪ.kɪt/
  • /səˈtɪf.ɪ.kət/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /sɚˈtɪf.ɪ.kət/
  • /sɚˈtɪf.ɪ.kɪt/
  • Texas: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /səˈtɪf.ɪˌkeɪt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /sɚˈtɪf.ɪˌkeɪt/
  • /səˈtɪf.ɪˌkæɪt/
  • CMU ARPABET: S ER0 T IH1 F IH0 K AH0 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Certified, assured.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A document containing a certified statement.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A document evidencing ownership or debt.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A document serving as evidence that a person has completed an educational course, issued either by an institution not authorised to grant diplomas, or to a student not qualifying for a diploma.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: education

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The information needed in order to verify a positive answer to a problem.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, computing-theory, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Ellipsis of public key certificate.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A motion picture age rating.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Ireland, UK

Examples

  • The film is certificate 15.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

Synonym of certification.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: certification

Antonyms: none provided

9

verb

Meaning 9

To supply with a certificate, especially following certification.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

a document attesting to the truth of certain stated facts

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: certification, credential, credentials

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: document, written document, papers

Narrower terms: certificate of incorporation, birth certificate, diploma, sheepskin, commission, military commission, bill of health, registration, teaching certificate, teacher's certificate, probate, probate will

11

noun

Meaning 11

a formal declaration that documents a fact of relevance to finance and investment; the holder has a right to receive interest or dividends

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he held several valuable securities

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: security

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: legal document, legal instrument, official document, instrument

Narrower terms: government security, agency security, mortgage-backed security, registered security, scrip, stock certificate, stock, tax-exempt security, tax-exempt, bond, bond certificate, zero-coupon security, zero coupon security, partnership certificate, proprietorship certificate, convertible, convertible security, letter security, listed security, unlisted security, over the counter security, OTC security

12

verb

Meaning 12

authorize by certificate

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: authorize, authorise, pass, clear

13

verb

Meaning 13

present someone with a certificate

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: award, present

History

Etymology

The noun is from Middle English certificat, certificate, sertyfycat, from Middle French certificat or its etymon Medieval Latin certificātum. The verb is from the noun. The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin certificātus.

Across languages

Translations

152 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: certifikatë — document containing a certified statement
  • Amharic: የምስክር ወረቀት (yämsəkr wäräḳät) — document containing a certified statement
  • Arabic: شَهَادَة (šahāda) — document containing a certified statement
  • Armenian: վկայագիր (vkayagir) — document containing a certified statement
  • Armenian: վկայական (vkayakan) — document containing a certified statement
  • Azerbaijani: arayış — document containing a certified statement
  • Azerbaijani: sertifikat — document containing a certified statement
  • Belarusian: сертыфіка́т (sjertyfikát) — document containing a certified statement
  • Belarusian: пасве́дчанне (pasvjédčannje) — document containing a certified statement
  • Belarusian: пасьве́дчаньне (pasʹvjédčanʹnje) — document containing a certified statement
  • Belarusian: дакуме́нт (dakumjént) — document containing a certified statement
  • Bulgarian: свиде́телство (svidételstvo) — document containing a certified statement
  • Bulgarian: удостовере́ние (udostoverénie) — document containing a certified statement
  • Bulgarian: сертифика́т (sertifikát) — document containing a certified statement
  • Bulgarian: докуме́нт (dokumént) — document containing a certified statement
  • Burmese: လက်မှတ် (lakhmat) — document containing a certified statement
  • Catalan: certificat — document containing a certified statement
  • Chinese Mandarin: 證書 /证书 (zhèngshū) — document containing a certified statement
  • Chinese Mandarin: 證明 /证明 (zhèngmíng) — document containing a certified statement
  • Chinese Mandarin: 憑證 /凭证 (píngzhèng) — document containing a certified statement
  • Czech: certifikát — document containing a certified statement
  • Czech: osvědčení — document containing a certified statement
  • Danish: certifikat — document containing a certified statement
  • Dutch: certificaat — document containing a certified statement
  • Dutch: attest — document containing a certified statement
  • Esperanto: atestilo — document containing a certified statement
  • Estonian: tunnistus — document containing a certified statement
  • Estonian: sertifikaat — document containing a certified statement
  • Finnish: todistus — document containing a certified statement
  • Finnish: sertifikaatti — document containing a certified statement
  • French: document — document containing a certified statement
  • French: certificat — document containing a certified statement
  • Georgian: მოწმობა (moc̣moba) — document containing a certified statement
  • Georgian: სერტიფიკატი (serṭipiḳaṭi) — document containing a certified statement
  • German: Zertifikat — document containing a certified statement
  • German: Zeugnis — document containing a certified statement
  • Greek: πιστοποιητικό (pistopoiitikó) — document containing a certified statement
  • Hebrew: תְּעוּדָה (t'udá) — document containing a certified statement
  • Hindi: प्रमाणपत्र (pramāṇpatra) — document containing a certified statement
  • Hungarian: igazolás — document containing a certified statement
  • Hungarian: tanúsítvány — document containing a certified statement
  • Hungarian: bizonyítvány — document containing a certified statement
  • Icelandic: vottorð — document containing a certified statement
  • Icelandic: skírteini — document containing a certified statement
  • Ido: atesto — document containing a certified statement
  • Indonesian: sertifikat — document containing a certified statement
  • Irish: teastas — document containing a certified statement
  • Italian: certificato — document containing a certified statement
  • Italian: attestato — document containing a certified statement
  • Jamaican Creole: cerfticket — document containing a certified statement
  • Japanese: 証明書 (shōmeisho) — document containing a certified statement
  • Japanese: 証書 (shōsho) — document containing a certified statement
  • Japanese: 認証 (ninshō) — document containing a certified statement
  • Javanese: partisara — document containing a certified statement
  • Javanese: sèrtipikat — document containing a certified statement
  • Javanese: nawala — document containing a certified statement
  • Kazakh: сертификат (sertifikat) — document containing a certified statement
  • Kazakh: куәлік (kuälık) — document containing a certified statement
  • Khmer: វិញ្ញាបនបត្រ (vɨññiəpaʼnaʼbat) — document containing a certified statement
  • Korean: 증명서 (jeungmyeongseo) — document containing a certified statement
  • Korean: 증서 (jeungseo) — document containing a certified statement
  • Northern Kurdish: bawername — document containing a certified statement
  • Northern Kurdish: şahedetname — document containing a certified statement
  • Northern Kurdish: sertîfîka — document containing a certified statement
  • Kyrgyz: сертификат (sertifikat) — document containing a certified statement
  • Kyrgyz: күбөлүк (kübölük) — document containing a certified statement
  • Lao: ໃບຮັບຮອງ (bai hap hǭng) — document containing a certified statement
  • Latvian: sertifikāts — document containing a certified statement
  • Lithuanian: sertifikatas — document containing a certified statement
  • Macedonian: сертифика́т (sertifikát) — document containing a certified statement
  • Malay: sijil — document containing a certified statement
  • Māori: tiwhikete — document containing a certified statement
  • Central Melanau: sijil — document containing a certified statement
  • Navajo: naaltsoos bee ééhózinii ályaaígíí — document containing a certified statement
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sertifikat — document containing a certified statement
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sertifikat — document containing a certified statement
  • Pashto: سند (sanad) — document containing a certified statement
  • Dari: شَهَادَتنَامَه (šahādat-nāma) — document containing a certified statement
  • Iranian Persian: گُواهینامِه (govâhi-nâme) — document containing a certified statement
  • Iranian Persian: گُواهی (govâhi) — document containing a certified statement
  • Polish: certyfikat — document containing a certified statement
  • Polish: atest — document containing a certified statement
  • Portuguese: certificado — document containing a certified statement
  • Punjabi: ਸਰਟੀਫਿਕੇਟ (sarṭīphikeṭ) — document containing a certified statement
  • Romanian: certificat — document containing a certified statement
  • Romanian: adeverință — document containing a certified statement
  • Russian: докуме́нт (dokumént) — document containing a certified statement
  • Russian: свиде́тельство (svidételʹstvo) — document containing a certified statement
  • Russian: сертифика́т (sertifikát) — document containing a certified statement
  • Russian: удостовере́ние (udostoverénije) — document containing a certified statement
  • Serbo-Croatian: цертифѝка̄т — document containing a certified statement
  • Serbo-Croatian: certifìkāt — document containing a certified statement
  • Slovak: certifikát — document containing a certified statement
  • Slovak: osvedčenie — document containing a certified statement
  • Slovene: certifikat — document containing a certified statement
  • Slovene: spričevalo — document containing a certified statement
  • Spanish: certificado — document containing a certified statement
  • Swahili: hati — document containing a certified statement
  • Swedish: certifikat — document containing a certified statement
  • Tagalog: katibayan — document containing a certified statement
  • Tajik: шаҳодатнома (šahodatnoma) — document containing a certified statement
  • Tajik: гувоҳинома (guvohinoma) — document containing a certified statement
  • Tajik: шаҳодат (šahodat) — document containing a certified statement
  • Tajik: гувоҳӣ (guvohi) — document containing a certified statement
  • Tajik: сертификат (sertifikat) — document containing a certified statement
  • Tamil: சான்றிதழ் (cāṉṟitaḻ) — document containing a certified statement
  • Thai: ใบรับรอง (bai-ráp-rɔɔng) — document containing a certified statement
  • Turkish: sertifika — document containing a certified statement
  • Ukrainian: сертифіка́т (sertyfikát) — document containing a certified statement
  • Ukrainian: свідо́цтво (svidóctvo) — document containing a certified statement
  • Ukrainian: докуме́нт (dokumént) — document containing a certified statement
  • Urdu: سَنَد (sanad) — document containing a certified statement
  • Urdu: سَرٹِیفِکیٹ (sarṭīfikeṭ) — document containing a certified statement
  • Uyghur: گۇۋاھنامە (guwahname) — document containing a certified statement
  • Uzbek: sertifikat — document containing a certified statement
  • Uzbek: guvohnoma — document containing a certified statement
  • Uzbek: shahodatnoma — document containing a certified statement
  • Vietnamese: giấy chứng nhận — document containing a certified statement
  • Welsh: tystysgrif — document containing a certified statement
  • Armenian: վկայագիր (vkayagir) — document evidencing ownership or debt
  • Armenian: վկայական (vkayakan) — document evidencing ownership or debt
  • Finnish: todistus — document evidencing ownership or debt
  • German: Zertifikat — document evidencing ownership or debt
  • German: Bestätigung — document evidencing ownership or debt
  • Indonesian: sertifikat — document evidencing ownership or debt
  • Indonesian: akta — document evidencing ownership or debt
  • Indonesian: surat berharga — document evidencing ownership or debt
  • Japanese: 証書 (shōsho) — document evidencing ownership or debt
  • Korean: 증서 (jeungseo) — document evidencing ownership or debt
  • Russian: сертифика́т (sertifikát) — document evidencing ownership or debt
  • Bulgarian: свиде́телство (svidételstvo) — academic document
  • Finnish: todistus — academic document
  • French: diplôme — academic document
  • German: Zeugnis — academic document
  • Hungarian: bizonyítvány — academic document
  • Hungarian: oklevél — academic document
  • Indonesian: sertifikat — academic document
  • Indonesian: ijazah — academic document
  • Indonesian: sijil — academic document
  • Khmer: សញ្ញាបត្រ (saññaabat) — academic document
  • Latin: probatoria — academic document
  • Luxembourgish: Diplom — academic document
  • Russian: аттеста́т (attestát) — academic document
  • Russian: свиде́тельство (svidételʹstvo) — academic document
  • Thai: ประกาศนียบัตร (bprà-gaa-sà-nii-yá-bàt) — academic document
  • Finnish: todiste — computing theory: information needed to verify a positive answer to a problem
  • Polish: atest — computing theory: information needed to verify a positive answer to a problem
  • Finnish: ikäraja — motion picture age rating
  • Danish: certificere — to supply with a certificate
  • German: zertifizieren — to supply with a certificate
  • German: bescheinigen — to supply with a certificate
  • German: beglaubigen — to supply with a certificate
Real reading context

certificate in complete knowledge articles