# decorate

Pronunciation: say "DEK-uh-rayt" /ˈdɛkəɹeɪt/

## Verb

1. To furnish a room, object, or space with ornaments and other adornments.
   - Simple: To add pretty things to a place or object to make it look nicer.
   - _Volunteers decorate the lobby with fresh garlands each December._
   - _He decorated the float with thousands of paper roses._
2. To improve the look of a room or building's interior, as by painting or papering the walls.
   - Simple: To make the inside of a room or home look better, often with paint or wallpaper.
   - _They hired someone to decorate the office before the grand opening._
   - _Each spring she decorates the cottage walls with a fresh coat of paint._
3. To honor a person by awarding a medal, ribbon, or similar mark of distinction.
   - Simple: To give someone a medal or ribbon to honor what they did.
   - _Each year they decorate veterans who showed exceptional courage._
   - _The general decorated three soldiers at the morning ceremony._
4. To extend a method or function by attaching an additional piece of code to it.
   - Simple: To add extra code to a function so that it does something more.
   - _Developers decorate the handler to measure how long each request takes._
   - _He decorated the function with a cache so repeated calls run faster._

## Origin

From Middle English decorat ("adorned"), from Latin decorātus, the past participle of decorō ("to adorn, distinguish, honor"). This traces back to decus ("ornament, grace, dignity, honor"), related to decor ("elegance, grace, beauty") and decet ("to befit").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/decorate (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).