equate
Americanverb (used with object)
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equates,
present (3rd person singular)
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equated,
past participle, past
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equating
present participle
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to regard, treat, or represent as equivalent.
We cannot equate the possession of wealth with goodness.
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to state the equality of or between; put in the form of an equation.
to equate growing prosperity with the physical health of a nation.
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to reduce to an average; make such correction or allowance in as will reduce to a common standard of comparison.
verb
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to make or regard as equivalent or similar, esp in order to compare or balance
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maths to indicate the equality of; form an equation from
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(intr) to be equal; correspond
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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equatesimple
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equatessimple
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have equatedperfect
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has equatedperfect
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am equatingprogressive
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are equatingprogressive
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is equatingprogressive
-
have been equatingperfect progressive
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has been equatingperfect progressive
Past
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equatedsimple
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had equatedperfect
-
was equatingprogressive
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were equatingprogressive
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had been equatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of equate
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin aequātus (past participle of aequāre to make equal), equivalent to aequ ( us ) equal + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
When you equate one thing with another, you say that they are both the same. You might equate indulging in a hot fudge sundae with giving up on your body entirely, but I would disagree. To equate means to make things equal, and it’s a useful word because this is something people do all the time. They equate strong political views with fascism, they equate having lots of money with good taste, and they equate popularity with goodness. Remember, though, that just because you equate one thing with another does not mean that they really are the same! As you have no doubt noticed, equate has the Latin root equ that means "equal, level," so look there if you need a reminder as to its meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing equate
Far from the Tree
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Carl Reiner (1922–2020) Tribute List
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"CLEP Financial Accounting," Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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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:
“We don’t want to be in a position where we sell something that doesn’t equate to the experience that someone is expecting to have.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Tu Le, managing director of advisory firm Sino Auto Insights, said the Chinese auto industry’s aggressive export plans equate to a “pressure release valve” as sales at home slow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
"In small teams under extreme conditions, more contact doesn't automatically equate to social support, but can actually increase tensions," says Jan Schmutz.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
That does not necessarily equate to 3.85 million people, but rather the number of times events were attended.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Equally typical is a tendency to equate the risk from some obscure and exotic malady with the chances of suffering from heart and circulatory disease, from which about 12,000 Americans die each week.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
That equates to an estimate of nearly $20 million of new expenses for county taxpayers annually.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
It also includes a partial cash alternative of up to 2.7 billion pounds—which equates to 20% of the total offer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
This equates to about 150 months, or 12-and-a-half years, to break even — or about 82-and-a-half years of age.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026
Micron had an 85% gross margin in the third quarter, and expects it to rise to 86% in the current quarter—that equates to a 600% markup on Micron’s cost of goods.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
All of which brings us to the key point: the ancients, particularly in the classical period, had no notion that equates exactly with our modern conception of “science.”
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
The sweeping majority of American nonprofits operate with annual budgets under $1 million; the value they got from Microsoft’s free business software equated to about 30 percent of their IT spend, he told me.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Unfortunately, as JPMorgan energy guru Michael Cembalest recently put it, we’re “in divinity school” where rationality is roughly equated with atheism when the subject is climate and energy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Speculation has been ramping up to incessant levels and media coverage of the high-anticipated event has equated their nuptials to America's version of a royal wedding.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Another got into specifics, saying their credit-card rewards equated to $400 monthly “in free money” based on their Meta ad spend.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026
I equated white men with power and authority and thought America must be full of white men.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
Adults across the UK spend more than £111 per month on dates and dating apps, equating to more than £1,300 per year, according to research from Barclays in 2025, external,
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Unilever and its shareholders will receive shares equating to 65% of the new entity.
From Barron's ● Mar. 31, 2026
The shift away from equating AI agents with human workers has less to do with quelling human anxiety over layoffs and job replacement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
In September 2023 Epic said it would axe 830 roles, equating to around 16% of its workforce, citing similar struggles.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
In equating physical beauty with virtue, she stripped her mind, bound it, and collected self-contempt by the heap.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
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.
