menstruate
Americanverb (used without object)
-
menstruates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
menstruated,
past participle, past
-
menstruating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
menstruatesimple
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menstruatessimple
-
have menstruatedperfect
-
has menstruatedperfect
-
am menstruatingprogressive
-
are menstruatingprogressive
-
is menstruatingprogressive
-
have been menstruatingperfect progressive
-
has been menstruatingperfect progressive
Past
-
menstruatedsimple
-
had menstruatedperfect
-
was menstruatingprogressive
-
were menstruatingprogressive
-
had been menstruatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of menstruate
1640–50; v. use of earlier menstruate menstruous, Middle English < Late Latin mēnstruātus, equivalent to mēnstru ( a ) monthly courses ( see menstrual) + -ātus -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Experts say period blood tests are not an immediate alternative to current cervical screening because only women who menstruate could use them.
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026
This invasive placenta is, in fact, part of the reason humans menstruate.
From Slate ● Sep. 7, 2024
The idea is to provide additional time to rest or seek healthcare for people who menstruate to improve overall reproductive health.
From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2024
All people who menstruate who live long enough go through menopause.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 25, 2023
And when the woman is on the point of ceasing to menstruate she does not do so smoothly and comfortably.
From Woman Her Sex and Love Life by William J. Robinson
Period tracking is a tool anyone who menstruates, not just professional athletes, could benefit from, experts say.
From BBC ● May 26, 2022
What if every person who menstruates, regardless of their academic or vocational potential, could just bleed in peace?
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2022
In spite of the fact that half the world menstruates, the menstrual product industry has gone through long periods of stagnation, in part because of the taboo nature of the need.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2019
If you’re a person who menstruates, pack pads, tampons, or a menstrual cup.
From The Verge ● Aug. 25, 2017
And as there are thirteen lunar months a year, a woman menstruates not twelve but thirteen times a year.
From Woman Her Sex and Love Life by William J. Robinson
When Prof Gravholt asked her why she didn’t consult a doctor about not getting periods, she said there was another older woman in her family who never menstruated - so she thought it wasn’t abnormal.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2024
Previously, there have been reports of people who menstruated, or used to menstruate, experiencing unexpected changes to their cycles after being given their shots.
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2022
Some postmenopausal women who hadn’t had a period in years even said they had menstruated again.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 6, 2022
In a book published after the war, Stieve included an illustration of the left ovary of a 22-year-old woman, noting that she “had not menstruated for 157 days due to nervous agitation.”
From Slate ● Dec. 10, 2017
Rouxeau describes amenorrhea in a girl of seventeen, who menstruated from the breast; and Teufard reports a case in which there was reestablishment of menstruation by the mammae at the age of fifty-six.
From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Walter L. (Walter Lytle) Pyle
"Our study found that up to one in five did not receive menstrual education in school until after they had started menstruating," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
India's Supreme Court is hearing petitions challenging a landmark 2018 order that allowed women of menstruating age into the famed Sabarimala temple in southern Kerala state.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
All the things that a modern state has are in the hands of this old guy, who was, just months before, answering questions about whether a menstruating woman is considered clean under the following circumstances.
From Slate ● Mar. 11, 2026
Participants who enrolled in the study between November 2018 and March 2023 -- 71,341 in total -- self-reported the age at which they first began menstruating and their race and socioeconomic status.
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2024
“But she’s been menstruating for a few months now,” Tessie objected.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
