germinate
verb (used without object)
to begin to grow or develop.
germinated
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past participleof germinate.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof germinate.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
germinateverb (used without object)to begin to grow or develop.
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.
Eight seedlings successfully germinated, with two now transferred to Logan Botanic Garden, where the climate is considered particularly suitable for rare Chilean plants.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
It is easy to laugh at the childlike naiveté of sending seeds to Mars, an idea that never germinated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
Those were the starter trees that spread the seed that had germinated and was now thriving in the open sunlight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2025
Once the grains germinated in a laboratory, the seedlings were planted in water in June, and harvesting began in early October.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2025
So they saw that they had to plant more seedpod trees for the sake of the oil, but the pods were so hard that they seldom germinated.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
