gravitate
Americanverb (used without object)
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gravitates,
present (3rd person singular)
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gravitated,
past participle, past
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gravitating
present participle
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to move or tend to move under the influence of gravitational force.
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to tend toward the lowest level; sink; fall.
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to have a natural tendency or be strongly attracted (usually followed by to ortoward ).
Musicians gravitate toward one another.
verb
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physics to move under the influence of gravity
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to be influenced or drawn, as by strong impulses
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to sink or settle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gravitatesimple
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gravitatessimple
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have gravitatedperfect
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has gravitatedperfect
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am gravitatingprogressive
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are gravitatingprogressive
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is gravitatingprogressive
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have been gravitatingperfect progressive
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has been gravitatingperfect progressive
Past
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gravitatedsimple
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had gravitatedperfect
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was gravitatingprogressive
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were gravitatingprogressive
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had been gravitatingperfect progressive
Future
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 ); see gravity, -ate 1
Explanation
To gravitate is to move toward or feel attracted to something. People gravitate toward things they like. Gravitate used to refer to how gravity pulls objects toward the Earth, but now it also describes how people are pulled toward things they like. Little kids gravitate towards playgrounds, someone athletic will gravitate toward sports, and someone with a nice voice might gravitate toward a singing career. Dogs gravitate toward squirrels — they move toward them whenever they have a chance. But don’t blame gravity for that one!
Vocabulary lists containing gravitate
Good Grief!: Grav, Griev
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Stargirl
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"Simplexity," Vocabulary from the science writing
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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.
See Examples For:
The analysts’ findings, they said, indicated that the AI models “consistently gravitate toward scale, value, convenience and brand familiarity.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Retailers weren’t sure whether customers would gravitate to their products such as clothes or hardware supplies through the app, DoorDash’s Hannon said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
It strikes me that the people who gravitate toward these bots not only feel lonely but also are actively excluded from circles of support.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026
“People that are giving an honest take about films and what they thought, even if they didn’t love it . . . I think that’s where people will just gravitate towards naturally.”
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Finnick and I gravitate toward each other in the hallway.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Some nod to what’s happening in America, such as when Carrie discovers the school library and gravitates straight to books that have been banned from classrooms and community libraries across the country.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026
But she still fears people "make assumptions" based on her accent so at networking events she gravitates towards others with a Welsh accent.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
When volatility rises, capital gravitates toward systems that can contain it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
They are the kinds of stocks Warren Buffett External link gravitates toward.
From Barron's ● Feb. 2, 2026
Winston, at normal times the kind of person who gravitates to the outer edge of any kind of scrimmage, shoved, butted, squirmed his way forward into the heart of the crowd.
From "1984" by George Orwell
“I’ve always gravitated toward really strategic inflection points of industries,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
You both gravitated toward Norman Rockwell’s “The Problem We All Live With” — why did it stand out to you?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
He also emphasized that Target had “much more work to do” to win back consumers, who have gravitated to rivals that have been able to offer deeper discounts.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Instead, I gravitated toward a pile of thin-necked yellow summer squash.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
It was May and our Hot Seats were over for the year, but on some days we still gravitated to the studio after school.
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
Lately, Skarsgård seems to be doing the same, gravitating toward roles that, at their core, interrogate the impact his looks have on other people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
“In that context, people are gravitating towards the largest players in the industry and looking at us to provide the antidotes to this development in AI,” Arora said in an interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Meanwhile, masked flower bearers started to appear, gravitating towards the scene of the incident and laying vibrant bouquets at the base of what has now been dubbed the Justice Tree.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
For years, I’ve found myself gravitating towards stories about neighborhood restaurants, family businesses, local farmers, and food traditions — not because they’re quaint or nostalgic, but because they’re windows into something larger.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
But with guidance, as they developed self-confidence and maturity, they moved on to other jobs, gravitating toward those that would suit their own interests and skills.
From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
