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
- intergenerating adjective
- nongenerating adjective
- pregenerate verb (used with object)
- ungenerated adjective
- ungenerating adjective
Etymology
Origin of generate
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin generātus “begotten, produced,” past participle of generāre “to beget”; genus
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.
"In fact, it turns out that a particle picture is not required to generate topological properties," says Bühler-Paschen.
From Science Daily
Lucrative matches in emerging markets have become a regular feature of the team's itinerary, raising funds, but not generating enthusiasm or passion back home.
From BBC
Although the sector's growth generates wealth and jobs, the high numbers have "a clear impact on residents" in specific destinations as tourist accommodation "offers higher profitability", Aznar told AFP.
From Barron's
AI providers have expanded into shopping as part of a push to develop agentic AI systems —referring to tools that can take action on users’ behalf, rather than merely generate content from prompts.
From Barron's
Training data comes from X, formerly Twitter, with 600 million users generating real-time content that no competitor can replicate through web scraping.
From MarketWatch
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.