meditate

American  

[med-i-tayt] / ˈmɛd ɪˌteɪt /

verb (used without object)

• meditates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• meditated,
  past participle,  past
• meditating
  present participle

1. to engage in thought or contemplation; reflect.

   Synonyms:

   think, study, cogitate, ruminate, muse, ponder

2. to engage in Transcendental Meditation, devout religious contemplation, or quiescent spiritual introspection.

---

verb (used with object)

• meditates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• meditated,
  past participle,  past
• meditating
  present participle

1. to consider as something to be done or effected; intend; purpose.

   to meditate revenge.

   Synonyms:

   contrive, devise, plan, contemplate

meditate British  

/ ˈmɛdɪˌteɪt /

verb

1. (intr; foll by on or upon) to think about something deeply

2. (intr) to reflect deeply on spiritual matters, esp as a religious act

   I make space to meditate every day

3. (tr) to plan, consider, or think of doing (something)

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• meditativeness
  noun
• meditator
  noun
• meditative
  adjective
• unmeditated
  adjective
• unmeditating
  adjective
• meditatingly
  adverb
• meditatively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• meditating
  present
• meditated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• meditate
  simple
• meditates
  simple
• have meditated
  perfect
• has meditated
  perfect
• am meditating
  progressive
• are meditating
  progressive
• is meditating
  progressive
• have been meditating
  perfect progressive
• has been meditating
  perfect progressive

Past

• meditated
  simple
• had meditated
  perfect
• was meditating
  progressive
• were meditating
  progressive
• had been meditating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will meditate
  simple
• will have meditated
  perfect
• will be meditating
  progressive
• will have been meditating
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of meditate

First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin meditātus “contemplated, planned,” past participle of meditārī “to meditate, contemplate, plan”

---

Explanation

When you meditate, you silently calm or focus your mind for relaxation or spiritual reasons. People who meditate regularly can put a stop to racing thoughts, making them less distracted. When you meditate, you focus on your breathing while sitting calmly. Some people mediate to reduce stress, while others see it as part of their spiritual practice. Meditate can also be used to describe any deep thinking you do, like when you meditate on what to say to a friend who is feeling sad lately. The Latin word for "ponder," meditari, is the root of meditate.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

meditate meditates meditated meditating

Could they meditate as the day winds down?

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

It’s a black panther, and it leads me to a place where I’m able to pray and meditate and calm my body down so I can be free.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has told critics to "meditate, pray or watch a football match" instead of "spreading hate and false rumours" about his leadership, the governing body and the World Cup.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Buddhism-themed tourism is thriving and tens of thousands of locals and foreigners sign up every year for "temple stay" retreats where they eat simple monastic food, do chores and meditate.

From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026

A righteous man, a tzaddik, studies Torah, for it is written, ‘For his delight is in the Torah of God, and over His Torah doth he meditate day and night.’

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

On the remarkable and moving “Little Gears,” a waltz-time number built atop piano and brushed drums, she meditates on a spider weaving a web.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025

Gukesh has interests outside of chess too - he meditates, swims and plays tennis.

From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2024

In the present, Baumgartner retires, meditates on his mortality and contemplates another shot at marriage with a colleague.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2023

Frazier said the garden has given her a place for more than just growing food — it’s where she meditates, connects with nature, and makes friends, too.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 30, 2023

She meditates a lot so during her class break it ain’t unusual to see her sitting on the desk with her legs folded and her arms crossed.

From "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake

He relied on care packages sent by family and friends, exercised, meditated and kept journals that he later used to write his book.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

As I stared into empty niches that once contained massive wooden statues of saints, I meditated on how fragile our democracy is.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026

Because the thing about Miles Davis is that he teaches people who have never meditated how to stop and be coherent about absoluteness.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2026

He said he also meditated on the matter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025

Odysseus, now alone before the palace, meditated a long time before crossing the brazen threshold of the great courtyard.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

"We're not saying it's all about just being spiritual and sitting under a tree and meditating," said Bovarnick.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

The shift in energy I experienced while meditating showed up on the results of my brain scan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

He spends chapters meditating on trauma and fatherhood, on periods of feeling spiritually adrift, on coming to love a “majestic” faith tradition while remaining connected to the rowdy evangelicals of his childhood.

From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026

All of these things that I’ve been meditating on for decades.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

There was a vague smile on the broad mouth and in the lines of the closed eyelids that made the frog appear to be meditating on a homey universe.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• ponder
• ruminate

---