To destine means to intend or set apart for a particular purpose or fate. When something is destined for a specific outcome, it seems meant or planned to end up that way, whether by design, circumstances, or nature.

A package destined for California will be sorted and shipped westward. A student with exceptional musical talent might seem destined to become a professional musician. When we say two people were destined to be friends, we mean their connection felt natural and inevitable, as if they were always meant to meet.

The word carries a sense of purpose or direction. A building destined for demolition will be torn down. A young athlete training intensely might be destined for greatness. Sometimes we use it to describe something that seems predetermined: “That elaborate sand castle was destined to be washed away by the tide.”

The related word destiny refers to what ultimately happens, especially when it feels like fate. But destine focuses on the setting apart or intending toward that outcome. People sometimes say that by working hard toward a goal, they are destining themselves for success, rather than leaving everything to chance.