notify

verb

no·​ti·​fy ˈnō-tə-ˌfī 

notified; notifying

transitive verb

1

: to give formal notice to

notify a family of the death of a relation

She notified the police about the accident.

2

: to give notice of or report the occurrence of

He notified his intention to sue.

She notified my arrival to the governor.

3

obsolete : to point out

notifier

ˈnō-tə-ˌfī(-ə)r 

noun

Choose the Right Synonym for notify

inform, acquaint, apprise, notify mean to make one aware of something.

inform implies the imparting of knowledge especially of facts or occurrences.

informed us of the crisis

acquaint lays stress on introducing to or familiarizing with.

acquaint yourself with the keyboard

apprise implies communicating something of special interest or importance.

keep us apprised of the situation

notify implies sending notice of something requiring attention or demanding action.

notified the witness when to appear

Examples of notify in a Sentence

Customers were notified of the changes in the company.

I was notified that I did not get the job.

Recent Examples on the Web

The vast majority of people whose call records have been stolen by Chinese hackers have not been notified, according to industry sources, and there is no indication that most affected people will be notified in the near future. —Kevin Collier, NBC News, 12 Dec. 2024

Town officials planned to notify the local school district inform children not to play with the brown snow, and recommended pet owners keep their animals away from it as well. —Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 12 Dec. 2024

World & Nation Police arrest man suspected in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Dec. 9, 2024 Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pa. — about 230 miles west of New York City — after a McDonald’s customer recognized him and notified an employee, authorities said. —Michael R. Sisak and Mark Scolforo, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024

The judge has only asked that the manager and receptionist be notified of the charges, calling for all suspects in the case to be questioned amid local authorities’ ongoing investigation into what played out the night of Payne’s fall, according to Rolling Stone, citing the documents obtained. —Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 10 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English notifien, from Anglo-French notifier to make known, from Late Latin notificare, from Latin notus known

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing notify

• pre-notify

Kids Definition

notify

verb

no·​ti·​fy ˈnōt-ə-ˌfī 

notified; notifying

: to give notice to : inform

notify the police

notifier

-ˌfī(-ə)r 

noun

Medical Definition

notify

transitive verb

no·​ti·​fy ˈnōt-ə-ˌfī 

notified; notifying

1

British : to report the occurrence of (a case of communicable disease) or the occurrence of communicable disease in (an individual)

all cases of disease should be notified by the treating consultant

—Practitioner

2

: to give formal notice to

the Broward County Public Health Unit … was notified of three children … hospitalized with encephalitis attributed to cat scratch disease

—The Journal of the American Medical Association