correlate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
correlates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
correlated,
past participle, past
-
correlating
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
correlates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
correlated,
past participle, past
-
correlating
present participle
adjective
noun
verb
-
to place or be placed in a mutual, complementary, or reciprocal relationship
-
(tr) to establish or show a correlation
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
intercorrelateverb (used with object)
-
correlatableadjective
-
noncorrelatingadjective
-
uncorrelatedadjective
-
uncorrelatedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
correlatesimple
-
correlatessimple
-
have correlatedperfect
-
has correlatedperfect
-
am correlatingprogressive
-
are correlatingprogressive
-
is correlatingprogressive
-
have been correlatingperfect progressive
-
has been correlatingperfect progressive
Past
-
correlatedsimple
-
had correlatedperfect
-
was correlatingprogressive
-
were correlatingprogressive
-
had been correlatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of correlate
First recorded in 1635–45; probably back formation from correlation and correlative
Explanation
If you notice that crumbs appear on your little brother's shirt whenever the cookies disappear from the cookie jar, you can say that you've correlated two facts, meaning that you've established or revealed that they're linked in a way that explains both of them. Detectives correlate pieces of evidence in order to solve crimes. For example, they might correlate a suspect’s bandaged hand with a shattered third-floor window. Correlate can also be used as a noun. Some companies promote products by suggesting that their products increase “happiness correlates,” or factors that have been shown to have a relationship with happiness, like health and friendship.
Vocabulary lists containing correlate
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
ACT Vocabulary List
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
A recent report from S&P Global Ratings found that changes in the cost of attendance can sway individual students but don’t broadly correlate to boosted enrollment levels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
It could correlate that way, but there’s no overarching purposeful use of it.”
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
Playing more matches does not always correlate with a lower league finish.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
The Pentagon list of publicly acknowledged boat strikes doesn’t closely correlate with the dates or details of the sinkings of the Ecuadorean boats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
They can correlate the samples with their locations later.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
"We found pronounced development in the upper limbs of these individuals, which correlates to repetitive, high-intensity actions like pulling a bowstring or stabilizing a weapon, proving these activities were habitual throughout their lives," explained Hashesh.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
“There is little real evidence,” she argues, “that homeschooling either causes abuse or correlates with higher levels of abuse than other schooling practices.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Meanwhile, the slight dip in unemployment correlates with a decline in labor-force participation.
From Slate ● Apr. 3, 2026
If time is money, and money is power, then who these characters spend their time with directly correlates to how wealthy and financially secure they can become.
From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2026
This process correlates with the age of a person: the older we are, the shorter our telomeres, and the fewer times our cells have left to divide before they die.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
The Kondo effect appears in one of the simplest examples of a strongly correlated system.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
Also periods when volatility is extremely low and markets are highly correlated, like the conditions that prevailed during the long zero-interest rates era of the 2010s, can pose problems for this kind of investing.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Since the 1950s, nominal GDP and yields have been correlated, albeit not tightly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Regular-season success isn’t directly correlated with postseason performance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
From this jumble, he must determine which factors are correlated and which are not.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
That metric’s rise was a strong signal to buy TJX in the prepandemic era, correlating with its rise to dominance in off-price.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
I reached similar results when correlating the total market value of each year’s IPOs and the stock market’s subsequent 10-year return, as you can see in the chart above.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
Mr. Stob, a professor of communication studies at Vanderbilt University, points out that “the idea of correlating outward appearance with interior mental abilities had been around for millennia.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
Miller’s view is up close and personal, providing the reader with private antidotes while examining her poems and correlating them to geopolitical issues.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2025
The extent of this Mr. Silberling seeks to measure by correlating clearings outside New York with New York share sales.
From The Value of Money by Benjamin M. Anderson
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.
