Are dating and relationships the same thing?

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I've always seen people in committed relationships say they're dating someone. Are those words synonyms? I've also read that the word dating means less commitment than an exclusive relationship. How can that be? They have the same definition to me!

i always find that confusing about english. i suspect it's not just words but also a cultural thing, to an extent. in my language, there's no translation for the word "dating" (the act of going out together with someone). afaik people just describe their situation with the newly-met person on a case-by-case basis instead. like "i met so-and-so at a party" or "we watched a movie" and so on. and when people are in a relationship with each other, there's a verb for it, which would be as if you turned the word boyfriend or girlfriend into a verb (but gender-neutral instead), so it's very clear. truth be told though, i have no idea how people usually meet and go from being strangers to "in a relationship" where i live

back to your original question. the odd thing is, the way i understand it, "dating" and "dating someone" are actually different meanings of the word. so there's the meaning of "going on dates", which may or may not imply a relationship, and then when there's a name attached to it (dating so-and-so), it actually does imply a relationship with some level of commitment or emotional attachment, but not necessarily the act of going out on dates with that person. yeah, it is confusing... i guess different people have different ideas about those words, because they're not clear, and relationships in general are unclear nowadays. then when they really want to be clear, they use awkward makeshift verbs instead, like "being in a relationship with someone"

Dating, I guess, is a relationship that is getting deeper.

The newest verb of choice in US English seems to be "seeing each other" (intransitive) or "seeing [name or pronoun]" (transitive). It encompasses both casual and serious relationships, but not FWB/hookup situations. In the 90's, it was "going out" for a new/casual relationship, and "going steady" for an exclusive relationship.

It'd be interesting to know if UK/Aus/NZ English uses the verb "seeing" in reference to dating/relationships too.

You can be dating, and not be in an exclusive relationship. But you are dating, going places together.

You can also be dating and be in an exclusive relationship. You're still going places together.

Dating is going places with each other. You might or might not be in an exclusive relationship.

"Going steady," in the 1970s, tended to be used by teenagers only. It was too "juvenile" to be "going steady" with someone when you were an adult.

One term that was for serious relationships was "involved with each other, or seriously involved with each other."

People would say "going out," or "seeing each other," or "dating each other" whether or not they were in an exclusive relationship.

If the relationship was exclusive, they would say that they were "serious about each other." Or that "the relationship is serious," or that they are "seeing each other seriously," or that they are "involved in a serious relationship."

Ah! I knew I forgot something. I was a teenager in the 90's, so I only heard "going steady" and not "involved". I still hear the former being used ironically by adults, but I never hear the latter anymore.