gravitate
[ grav-i-teyt ]
/ ˈgræv ɪˌteɪt /
verb (used without object), grav·i·tat·ed, grav·i·tat·ing.
to move or tend to move under the influence of gravitational force.
to tend toward the lowest level; sink; fall.
to have a natural tendency or be strongly attracted (usually followed by to or toward): Musicians gravitate toward one another.
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Nearby words
- graving piece,
- graviperception,
- gravireceptor,
- gravisphere,
- gravitas,
- gravitation,
- gravitational,
- gravitational collapse,
- gravitational constant,
- gravitational field
Origin of gravitate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for gravitate
gravitate
/ (ˈɡrævɪˌteɪt) /
verb (intr)
physics to move under the influence of gravity
(usually foll by to or towards) to be influenced or drawn, as by strong impulses
to sink or settle
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
gravitate
1640s, "exert weight, move downward," from Modern Latin gravitatus, past participle of gravitare "gravitate," from Latin gravitas "heaviness, weight" (see gravity). Meaning "To be affected by gravity" is from 1690s. Figurative use from 1670s. Related: Gravitated; gravitating. The classical Latin verb was gravare "to make heavy, burden, oppress, aggravate."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper