generate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bring into existence; cause to be; produce.
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to create by a vital or natural process.
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to create and distribute vitally and profusely.
He generates ideas that we all should consider.
A good diplomat generates good will.
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to reproduce; procreate.
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to produce by a chemical process.
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Mathematics.
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to trace (a figure) by the motion of a point, straight line, or curve.
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to act as base for all the elements of a given set.
The number 2 generates the set 2, 4, 8, 16.
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Linguistics. to produce or specify (a grammatical sentence or other construction or set of constructions) by the application of a rule or set of rules in a generative grammar.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to produce or bring into being; create
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(also intr) to produce (electricity), esp in a power station
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to produce (a substance) by a chemical process
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maths linguistics to provide a precise criterion or specification for membership in (a set)
these rules will generate all the noun phrases in English
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geometry to trace or form by moving a point, line, or plane in a specific way
circular motion of a line generates a cylinder
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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pregenerateverb (used with object)
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ungeneratedadjective
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intergeneratingadjective
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ungeneratingadjective
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nongeneratingadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has generatedperfect 3rd person singular
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have generatedperfect
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has been generatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am generatingprogressive 1st person singular
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generatingparticiple
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generatessingular 3rd person
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have been generatingperfect progressive
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are generatingprogressive
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is generatingprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had generatedperfect
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was generatingprogressive singular
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generatedparticiple
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were generatingprogressive plural
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generatedsimple
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had been generatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of generate
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin generātus “begotten, produced,” past participle of generāre “to beget”; see genus
Explanation
Generate means produce or create. A good stock pick might generate cash, and a good idea might generate the basis for an Oscar-winning film. Generate and the closely related word generation both come from the Latin word genus, which means "stock or race." Its root, in turn, is the Proto-Indo-European gen-, "to produce, give birth, or beget." Let's say you have two siblings. In that case, your parents' marriage has generated three children. In a hydroelectric power plant, water generates power. And you can get a paper route or babysit if you're looking to generate a little income.
Vocabulary lists containing generate
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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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.
Employees use it to summarize meetings, draft emails and generate first cuts of presentations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
The World Cup build-up will generate many superlatives about Messi.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
The post also arrives as AI tools are making it easier than ever to generate elaborate political imagery.
From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026
Data center developers, power producers, and clean energy companies orbiting them often can’t, and must borrow or sell stock to build the products that generate profits.
From Barron's • Jun. 6, 2026
The third R of the physiology of genes is a word that lies outside common human vocabulary, but is essential to the survival of our species: recombination—the ability to generate new combinations of genes.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
