gravitate

American  

[grav-i-teyt] / ˈgræv ɪˌteɪt /

verb (used without object)

gravitated, gravitating

1. to move or tend to move under the influence of gravitational force.

2. to tend toward the lowest level; sink; fall.

3. to have a natural tendency or be strongly attracted (usually followed by to ortoward ).

   Musicians gravitate toward one another.

   Synonyms:

   move, lean, tend, incline

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gravitate British  

/ ˈɡrævɪˌteɪt /

verb

1. physics to move under the influence of gravity

2. to be influenced or drawn, as by strong impulses

3. to sink or settle

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Other Word Forms

• gravitater noun
• supergravitate verb (used without object)
• ungravitating adjective

Etymology

Origin of gravitate

First recorded in 1635–45; from New Latin gravitātus (past participle of gravitāre “to obey the laws of gravitation,” coined by Sir Isaac Newton ); gravity, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Another formula towards which I gravitate: one hot side, one cold, one green, one beige.

From Salon

Investors are also gravitating to high-yielding haven stocks in the consumer staples sector.

From Barron's

Instead of gravitating toward higher calorie whole foods such as rice, meat, and butter, people naturally tend to eat much larger amounts of fruits and vegetables.

From Science Daily

“A lot of them are stuff you might not gravitate towards. And this could have easily been lost amid a bunch of other emails.”

From Los Angeles Times

Being useful made him swell with pride, and he always gravitated back to me because I praised him when he did things right and was patient when he got them wrong.

From Literature

Related Words

• drift
• incline
• lean
• tend