germinate
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to begin to grow or develop.
-
Botany.
-
to develop into a plant or individual, as a seed, spore, or bulb.
-
to put forth shoots; sprout; pullulate.
-
-
to come into existence; begin.
verb (used with object)
-
to cause to develop; produce.
-
to cause to come into existence; create.
verb
-
to cause (seeds or spores) to sprout or (of seeds or spores) to sprout or form new tissue following increased metabolism
-
to grow or cause to grow; develop
-
to come or bring into existence; originate
the idea germinated with me
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of germinate
1600–10; < Latin germinātus (past participle of germināre to sprout, bud), equivalent to germin- ( see germinal) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To germinate is to grow or to develop. When a tiny seedling cracks through a seed casing and sprouts, it has germinated. The term is used for other things too, like when an idea germinates into a film or book. Sometimes you want things to germinate, like the heirloom tomato seeds in your backyard garden. Sometimes what germinates is not desirable — like how joblessness, economic problems, and generations of anti-Semitism provided a fertile ground for Nazism to germinate in pre-war Germany. The word's roots are in botany, but it has grown, or dare we say germinated, to be used for any time something grows and develops.
Vocabulary lists containing germinate
Stump Speech: Tree Terminology
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!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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!
The Martian
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.
Jumping straight into a list of major to-dos would leave little time for ideas to germinate.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026
And getting certification is a rigorous, costly process, as seeds need to be tested in a laboratory for their purity and things like how well they germinate.
From BBC • Jul. 20, 2025
The problem is, when you remove 6 inches of soil from a yard, you’re likely removing some or all of the top soil, where plants germinate and get the nutrients they need to grow.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2025
It is filled with bacterial spores that, when exposed to nutrients present in compost, germinate and break down the material at the end of its life cycle.
From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2024
The seeds of many wild plant species actually must pass through an animal’s gut before they can germinate.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
