aerate

American  

[air-ayt, ay-uh-rayt] / ˈɛər eɪt, ˈeɪ əˌreɪt /

verb (used with object)

• aerates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• aerated,
  past participle,  past
• aerating
  present participle

1. to expose to the action or effect of air or to cause air to circulate through.

   to aerate milk in order to remove odors.

2. to change or treat with air or a gas, especially with carbon dioxide.

3. Physiology. to expose (a medium or tissue) to air as in the oxygenation of the blood in respiration.

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aerate British  

/ ˈɛəreɪt /

verb

1. to charge (a liquid) with a gas, esp carbon dioxide, as in the manufacture of effervescent drink

2. to expose to the action or circulation of the air, so as to purify

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aerate Scientific  

/ âr′āt /

1. To add a gas, such as carbon dioxide, to a liquid.

2. To supply with oxygen. Blood is aerated in the alveoli of the lungs.

3. To supply with air or expose to the circulation of air.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• aeration
  noun
• aerator
  noun
• subaeration
  noun
• subaerate
  verb (used with object)
• nonaerated
  adjective
• nonaerating
  adjective
• unaerated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• aerating
  present
• aerated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• aerate
  simple
• aerates
  simple
• have aerated
  perfect
• has aerated
  perfect
• am aerating
  progressive
• are aerating
  progressive
• is aerating
  progressive
• have been aerating
  perfect progressive
• has been aerating
  perfect progressive

Past

• aerated
  simple
• had aerated
  perfect
• was aerating
  progressive
• were aerating
  progressive
• had been aerating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will aerate
  simple
• will have aerated
  perfect
• will be aerating
  progressive
• will have been aerating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of aerate

1785–95; < Latin āer- aer- + -ate ¹

Explanation

To aerate something is to put air into it. When a pastry chef whips cream, she aerates it, filling it with air until it's light and fluffy. Gardeners sometimes aerate soil with special spikes, allowing air to penetrate the surface and helping lawns or plants get more oxygen. If you aerate water or juice, you carbonate it, resulting in a fizzy soda. Cooking, baking, aquarium maintenance, and chemistry are just some of the activities that occasionally require someone to aerate some material. In Latin, aer means "air."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aerate aerates aerated aerating

Being able to banter about blade height and the best time to aerate also gains you access to an office subculture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

The water vole is often described as an "ecosystem engineer" or a "mini-beaver" by conservationists, as they dig burrows through watercourses and help aerate the soil.

From BBC ● May 19, 2026

Equipment installed at various points along contaminated creeks to aerate the water ended up releasing chemicals into the air.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2024

The obvious utility of iron for fashioning tougher and more durable tools used to clear forests, aerate land, and dig trench- based irrigation systems led others to adopt the new material.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

And this is by no means all they do: their burrows aerate the soil, keep it well drained, and aid the penetration of plant roots.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Shaking liquids with one-inch cubes, for example, aerates the alcohol and emphasizes subtle flavors, and it can also produce thick foams necessary for drinks such as the whisky sour.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 17, 2023

Before it sends the sewage back into the closest river, the plant aerates the wastewater.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2021

Start by whisking your dry ingredients together — this not only combines them, it aerates them.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2021

But it aerates what’s already been well-trod, offering an alternately pitiless and tenderhearted lens on such hardy themes as character, filial loyalty and American progress at its most naive and voraciously destructive.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 25, 2018

It aerates the soil, enabling roots to thrive better.

From Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study by Ontario. Ministry of Education

The dishes themselves are constantly changing—past offerings have included a reimagined s’more made from an aerated dark-chocolate rock with graham-cracker ganache and burnt meringue, which was paired with strawberry amaro milk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

X, Instagram, and Truth Social reduce complexities once aerated in newspaper articles into media morsels.

From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026

Katherines was one of 62 schools in Essex built with collapse-prone Raac, or reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2025

The Dhokla Aero is aerated white chocolate, cocoa butter and a purée of Dhokla inside.

From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2024

Their digging to extract the tuber loosened and aerated the soil and fostered regrowth.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Frustrated fans would have to consider new Sunday hobbies, like raking and aerating the lawn, or speaking to their families.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Grizzly bears also bring benefits, including dispersing seeds and aerating soil.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2025

Their wide spreading roots help to loosen soil, aerating the earth and reducing erosion.

From National Geographic ● Oct. 2, 2023

When studying frogs in Australia's Watagan Mountains, Gould was surprised to find evaporated puddles where eggs thrived for days, swaddled in nests their mothers whip up by aerating mucus secretions with their toes.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 30, 2021

So the sheriff stopped and shot twice more, aerating the dump but not the bird.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Related Words

• oxygenate