Synonyms

bombinate

American

[bom-buh-neyt] / ˈbɒm bəˌneɪt /

verb (used without object)

bombinated, bombinating

to make a humming or buzzing noise.

bombinate British

/ ˈbɒmbɪˌneɪt /

verb

Also (rare): bombilate. literary (intr) to make a buzzing noise

"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

Other Word Forms

bombination noun

Etymology

Origin of bombinate

First recorded in 1875–80; from New Latin bombinātus, past participle of bombināre, apparently coined by François Rabelais on the basis of Latin bombilāre “to hum, buzz,” from Greek bombyliázein, derivative of bómbos; bomb

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.

They appealed to him as a group of carefully tailored Abstractions bombinating mellifluously in a void.

From Project Gutenberg

V. roll, drum, rumble, rattle, clatter, patter, clack; bombinate†. hum, trill, shake; chime, peal, toll; tick, beat. drum in the ear, din in the ear.

From Project Gutenberg

Like his co-workers he had been somewhat stampeded by Dorn's imitative faculties, faculties which enabled the former journalist to bombinate twice as loud in a void three times as great as any of his colleagues.

From Project Gutenberg

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