Synonyms

propagate

American

[prop-uh-gayt] / ˈprɒp əˌgeɪt /

verb (used with object)

to cause (an organism) to multiply by any process of natural reproduction from the parent stock.
to reproduce (itself, its kind, etc.), as an organism does.
to transmit (hereditary features or elements) to, or through, offspring.
to spread (a report, doctrine, practice, etc.) from person to person; disseminate.
to cause to increase in number or amount.
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.
to spread (a disease) from one individual to another.

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

verb (used without object)

to multiply by any process of natural reproduction, as organisms; breed.
to increase in extent, as a structural flaw.

The crack will propagate only to this joint.
(of electromagnetic waves, compression waves, etc.) to travel through space or a physical medium.
Computers. to take effect throughout a network of devices.

propagate British

/ ˈprɒpəˌɡeɪt /

verb

biology to reproduce or cause to reproduce; breed
(tr) horticulture to produce (plants) by layering, grafting, cuttings, etc
(tr) to promulgate; disseminate
physics to move through, cause to move through, or transmit, esp in the form of a wave

to propagate sound
(tr) to transmit (characteristics) from one generation to the next

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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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

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.

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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:

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

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

Any pullback in stock markets has major negative wealth effects, and because the U.S. is pretty much two thirds of the world’s stock market capitalization a “U.S.-led repricing could propagate globally.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026

It was once thought, in the days before relativity, that light did propagate through a special medium that permeated all of space, called “the luminiferous aether.”

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

“Much will depend on the duration of the unfolding energy shock and how it propagates through the economy – including any signs of second-round effects,” they say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

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

From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2025

Recent publications by the Hannezo group suggest that cell communication propagates in waves -- an interplay between biochemical signals, physical behavior, and motion.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2024

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

Let us add that thought, too, propagates itself throughout mankind, in like manner with the germ plasm.

From The Forerunners by Romain Rolland

Driscoll’s has filed more than 20 lawsuits against companies in China, some of which it has said took its proprietary blueberry plants, propagated them and sold them to rival growers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 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

There’s a whole discourse that women only want to marry tall, beefy, high-testosterone, aggro men, but that discourse is largely propagated by male influencers and people trying to sell protein powder.

From Slate ● Jun. 15, 2025

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

Helen Litchfield, secretary of the botany section at La Société Guernesiaise, said the team's efforts in propagating the dwarf pansy meant it was no longer at risk.

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026

Both countries poured billions of dollars into propagating their respective versions of Islamic orthodoxy around the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 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

Or perhaps there are living things that do not have a solvent system at all—solid-state life, where there are electrical signals propagating rather than molecules floating about.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023