germinate

American  

[jur-muh-neyt] / ˈdʒɜr məˌneɪt /

verb (used without object)

germinated, germinating

1. to begin to grow or develop.

2. Botany.

   1. to develop into a plant or individual, as a seed, spore, or bulb.

   2. to put forth shoots; sprout; pullulate.

3. to come into existence; begin.

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verb (used with object)

germinated, germinating

1. to cause to develop; produce.

2. to cause to come into existence; create.

germinate British  

/ ˈdʒɜːmɪˌneɪt /

verb

1. to cause (seeds or spores) to sprout or (of seeds or spores) to sprout or form new tissue following increased metabolism

2. to grow or cause to grow; develop

3. to come or bring into existence; originate

   the idea germinated with me

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Other Word Forms

• germinable adjective
• germination noun
• germinator noun
• nongerminating adjective
• nongermination noun
• regerminate verb
• regermination noun
• ungerminated adjective
• ungerminating adjective

Etymology

Origin of germinate

1600–10; < Latin germinātus (past participle of germināre to sprout, bud), equivalent to germin- ( germinal ) + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Those were the starter trees that spread the seed that had germinated and was now thriving in the open sunlight.

From Los Angeles Times

For example, some seeds in the soil rely on heat shock or smoke to germinate.

From Los Angeles Times

More than 80% of the spores endured the full trip, and all but 11% of those survivors successfully germinated in the laboratory.

From Science Daily

Once the grains germinated in a laboratory, the seedlings were planted in water in June, and harvesting began in early October.

From Barron's

Deadwood-decomposing fungi feed germinating orchids, providing the carbon their tiny seeds don't have.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• sprout