participate
Americanverb (used without object)
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participates,
present (3rd person singular)
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participated,
past participle, past
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participating
present participle
verb (used with object)
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participates,
present (3rd person singular)
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participated,
past participle, past
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participating
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
See share 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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participationnoun
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participatornoun
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participantadjective
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participativeadjective
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participatoryadjective
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unparticipatedadjective
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unparticipatingadjective
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unparticipativeadjective
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participatinglyadverb
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participativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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participatesimple
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participatessimple
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have participatedperfect
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has participatedperfect
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am participatingprogressive
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are participatingprogressive
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is participatingprogressive
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have been participatingperfect progressive
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has been participatingperfect progressive
Past
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participatedsimple
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had participatedperfect
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was participatingprogressive
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were participatingprogressive
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had been participatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of participate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin participātus “shared,” past participle of participāre “to share,” equivalent to particip- (stem of particeps ) “taking part, partner” ( see participle) + -āre, verb suffix
Explanation
If you take part in an activity or organization, you participate in it. For example, you participate in a conversation by listening to and talking with others, or you participate in a sport by joining a team and taking part in practices and games. You can use the verb participate to mean "be involved in" or "share in." Sometimes it is easy to figure out who participates in something — the runners in a race, the people waiting their turn to audition for a part in a play. Sometimes it isn't so obvious. If two students cause trouble but the teacher punishes the whole class, it might be that in not stopping the troublemakers, she views everyone as having participated — just being there means they were involved.
Vocabulary lists containing participate
On Your Mark, Get Set, Commence Your Life!
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Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789)
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A Résumé of Active Words
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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:
Beyond their role in protein production, these amino acids participate in important biological processes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
Elon Musk knows that many investors will go above and beyond to participate in his companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
"Rather than participate in that democratic process, Uefa issued a press release - the beginning of a weeks-long smear campaign against Fifa and its leadership," it wrote in the court filing.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The federal agent claimed the reference to elections showed “intent to participate in the election process.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
“Do you want to explain your reluctance to participate in class?”
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
It is one of the few public accountability mechanisms that the Fed participates in where the focus is mostly on monetary policy.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
Real name Jon Harvey, Count Binface is a comedian and author who often participates in elections and by-elections always in a silver dustbin costume.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
However, they also agreed with Cipollone that tobacco liability cases do not get blanket federal preemption, especially if industry participates in fraud or other deceptive practices independent of a warning label.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Paylor’s firm seldom participates in closed-end fund IPOs but is this time around.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
She was the type of girl who participates, and Rowan was the kind of kid who avoids.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Players are allowed to have endorsement and business deals, but at issue was whether the Clippers participated in arranging the side deal beyond simply introducing Aspiration executives to Leonard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Though the influx of agents eventually left Minnesota, taking their horrific behavior elsewhere, state officials have been busy attempting to pursue accountability, filing numerous cases against the federal officers who participated in the raids.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
The forecasting exercise Warsh participated in from 2007-11 received less attention than it does today.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Among people who actually participated, the risk was 43 percent lower.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
I participated in sports and games as often as I could, but my performances were no more than mediocre.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
“The District wishes to thank all the proposers and their teams for their time and effort participating in this procurement,” David Travers, director of contracts for the district’s capital improvement program, wrote in the letter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
The research was led by scientists from the National Astronomical Observatories of China, the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of CAS, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, together with researchers participating in DESI.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
On the Common App, the number of participating institutions has more than tripled since 2023-24, representing about a fifth of the app’s partners, said Chief Executive Jenny Rickard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
For much of the series, $3.49 got you a tape at participating McDonald’s, alongside a small vanilla cone or Diet Coke.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
Cal was participating in hopes of being allowed back into school next term; Cloke and Bram and Laura as part of their required hours of community service; Jack was merely along for the ride.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
