propagate

American  

[prop-uh-gayt] / ˈprɒp əˌgeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• propagates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• propagated,
  past participle,  past
• propagating
  present participle

1. to cause (an organism) to multiply by any process of natural reproduction from the parent stock.

2. to reproduce (itself, its kind, etc.), as an organism does.

3. to transmit (hereditary features or elements) to, or through, offspring.

4. to spread (a report, doctrine, practice, etc.) from person to person; disseminate.

5. to cause to increase in number or amount.

6. to create (an effect) at a distance, as by electromagnetic waves, compression waves, etc., traveling through space or a physical medium; transmit.

   to propagate sound.

7. to spread (a disease) from one individual to another.

   Dr. John Atlee believed believed that filthy living conditions probably propagated cholera.

8. Computers. to cause (an update or other alteration) to take effect throughout a network of devices.

   The active master database replicates updates to the standby master database, which propagates the updates to the subscribers.

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verb (used without object)

• propagates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• propagated,
  past participle,  past
• propagating
  present participle

1. to multiply by any process of natural reproduction, as organisms; breed.

2. to increase in extent, as a structural flaw.

   The crack will propagate only to this joint.

3. (of electromagnetic waves, compression waves, etc.) to travel through space or a physical medium.

4. Computers. to take effect throughout a network of devices.

propagate British  

/ ˈprɒpəˌɡeɪt /

verb

1. biology to reproduce or cause to reproduce; breed

2. (tr) horticulture to produce (plants) by layering, grafting, cuttings, etc

3. (tr) to promulgate; disseminate

4. physics to move through, cause to move through, or transmit, esp in the form of a wave

   to propagate sound

5. (tr) to transmit (characteristics) from one generation to the next

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• propagation
  noun
• propagator
  noun
• nonpropagative
  adjective
• propagational
  adjective
• propagative
  adjective
• propagatory
  adjective
• self-propagating
  adjective
• unpropagative
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• propagating
  present
• propagated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• propagate
  simple
• propagates
  simple
• have propagated
  perfect
• has propagated
  perfect
• am propagating
  progressive
• are propagating
  progressive
• is propagating
  progressive
• have been propagating
  perfect progressive
• has been propagating
  perfect progressive

Past

• propagated
  simple
• had propagated
  perfect
• was propagating
  progressive
• were propagating
  progressive
• had been propagating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will propagate
  simple
• will have propagated
  perfect
• will be propagating
  progressive
• will have been propagating
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of propagate

First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin propāgātus (past participle of propāgāre “to reproduce (a plant) by cuttings, spread for sprouting, propagate, enlarge),” equivalent to propāg(ēs) “something set out, scion, slip” ( pro- pro- ¹ + pāg-, base of pangere “to fasten” + -ēs noun suffix) + -ātus -ate ¹

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Explanation

To propagate is to be fruitful and multiply, by the usual routes of reproduction, or by spreading something around — like a rumor. Propagate comes from the Latin word propagare, which means "to reproduce plants, breed." Plants love to propagate, especially when someone with a green thumb starts off with a jade plant stem in water and ends up with a garden full of the succulents. Plants aren't the only things to propagate like bunnies: in some apocalyptic movies, a virus propagates quickly, killing almost everyone in the world. Sound and light can also spread, or propagate, through the air.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

propagate propagates propagated propagating

She pointed to a desire to boost domestic production in agriculture and other sectors, alongside a wish to propagate "family values" and liberties.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

McKeen recalled how he and other farmers at the time would pitch restaurants on serving fresh oysters, while simultaneously developing a scrappy style of aquaculture to propagate them in the Damariscotta.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Any talk of changing the rules, salary cap or otherwise, to put reins on this kind of success would propagate underperformance and penalize this fascinating culture of constant improvement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

"It becomes an extremely focused, extremely weak surface, which makes it easier for ruptures to propagate all the way to the seafloor."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026

“About three hundred years ago, some Rusty figured a way to engineer the species to adapt to wider conditions. She messed with the genes to make them propagate more easily.”

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Over generations, the trait propagates through the population until what was once a rare mutation becomes commonplace.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

“Tár” takes place inside that vacuum, where the conductor propagates this great myth to maintain her control.

From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2025

Now a nonprofit, the group propagates and distributes about 10,000 native saplings annually from wild-collected seed, mostly to other nonprofits and ecological restoration efforts.

From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2024

It’s one of many factors the researchers had to consider in their acoustic modeling, along with wind speed, temperature and time of year, which can all affect how sound propagates through the ocean.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2024

Due convenience being afforded to it, the emeu thrives well, and readily propagates its kind in Europe.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 3 "Electrostatics" to "Engis" by Various

The belief, which air theorists had propagated since the onset of combat planes in World War I, seemed confirmed by the results of World War II. However, the U.S.

From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026

In contrast, the Wrightwood earthquake of 1812 crossed the junction and propagated through both fault systems as a single event.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026

The sphagnum austinii has been brought from Scotland, where it still grows, to the Yorkshire Dales and is being propagated in local nurseries before it is planted within the blanket bogs.

From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2026

That is the sort of narrative that’s being propagated online in large measure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026

The Atlantic Charter of 1941, signed by Roosevelt and Churchill, reaffirmed faith in the dignity of each human being and propagated a host of democratic principles.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Historically, a worm would exploit a fixed set of vulnerabilities, and that meant you could fix these vulnerabilities and prevent the worm from propagating any further to devices that had been updated.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

Also, the wild agave plant is very good at propagating itself.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

“It seems quite obvious to me that those propagating that post are either just looking for easy engagement and/or have never worked in a serious financial institution,” he wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

Correlations across asset classes could rise abruptly, propagating the initial stress like a wave across segments of the financial system seemingly uncorrelated.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 26, 2026

Huygens argued that instead light behaved as if it were a wave propagating in a vacuum, as an ocean wave does in the sea—which is why we talk about the wavelength and frequency of light.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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