germinate

[ jur-muh-neyt ]

/ ˈdʒɜr məˌneɪt /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: germinate / germinating / germination on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), ger·mi·nat·ed, ger·mi·nat·ing.

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), ger·mi·nat·ed, ger·mi·nat·ing.

to cause to develop; produce.

to cause to come into existence; create.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of germinate

1600–10; <Latin germinātus (past participle of germināre to sprout, bud), equivalent to germin- (see germinal) + -ātus-ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM germinate

ger·mi·na·ble

[jur-muh-nuh-buhl], /ˈdʒɜr mə nə bəl/, adjectiveger·mi·na·tion, nounger·mi·na·tor, nounnon·ger·mi·nat·ing, adjective

non·ger·mi·na·tion, nounre·ger·mi·nate, verb, re·ger·mi·nat·ed, re·ger·mi·nat·ing.re·ger·mi·na·tion, nounun·ger·mi·nat·ed, adjectiveun·ger·mi·nat·ing, adjective

Words nearby germinate

germinability, germinal, germinal disk, germinal vesicle, germinant, germinate, germination, germinative, Germiston, germ layer, germ line

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use germinate in a sentence

Most are edible and germinate in the conventional way, starting life as a seedling and growing upward.
The Incredible Fig - Issue 104: Harmony|Meg Lowman|July 28, 2021|Nautilus
They’ll germinate in roughly two weeks, with the first harvest six weeks later.
Grow your own indoor garden with this deal on a hydroponic system|Quinn Gawronski|July 9, 2021|Popular-Science
One of those seeds gets carried across an ocean to a new, unvegetated continent where it germinates and becomes the founder species for plant life.
A Wrinkle in Nature Could Lead to Alien Life - Issue 99: Universality|Caleb Scharf|April 21, 2021|Nautilus
Oreskes describes how major science advances germinated and weaves those accounts with deeply researched stories of backstabbing colleagues, attempted coups at oceanographic institutions and daring deep-sea adventures.
A new book explores how military funding shaped the science of oceanography|Alka Tripathy-Lang|April 16, 2021|Science News

The post-Harden Rockets exist as a shell-encased seed, hurt by injury but ready to germinate.
The Post-Harden Rockets Have A Different Style — And Lots Of Possibilities|Louis Zatzman|February 19, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
Texas may be a testing ground, but it is in Silicon Valley that ideas germinate and incubate.
The GOP’s Huge, Growing Modernity Gap|Lloyd Green|June 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But without a reasonable expectation that security will materialize, better governance will not germinate.
It's All or Nothing in Afghanistan|Vanda Felbab-Brown|October 11, 2009|DAILY BEAST
That sent to Sind, though said to have been carefully sown, also failed to germinate.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
More thinking, and a greater experience of life, may cause him to germinate agreeably in a few years.
Our Churches and Chapels|Atticus
Does anyone know for sure how to get pawpaw seed to germinate?
Northern Nut Growers Association Thirty-Fourth Annual Report 1943|Various
This is a seed of such force and vitality, that it does not ask our leave to germinate.
A Plea for Captain John Brown|Henry David Thoreau
The spores of a heartwood-inhabiting fungus cannot germinate and thrive unless they fall upon the heartwood of the tree.
Our National Forests|Richard H. Douai Boerker

British Dictionary definitions for germinate

germinate

/ (ˈdʒɜːmɪˌneɪt) /

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; originatethe idea germinated with me

Derived forms of germinate

germinable or germinative, adjectivegermination, noungerminator, noun

Word Origin for germinate

C17: from Latin germināre to sprout; see germ

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

germinate

Origin of germinate

OTHER WORDS FROM germinate

Words nearby germinate

Words related to germinate

How to use germinate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for germinate

Derived forms of germinate

Word Origin for germinate