lubricate

[loo-bri-keyt]

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verb (used with object), lu·bri·cat·ed, lu·bri·cat·ing.

to apply some oily or greasy substance to (a machine, parts of a mechanism, etc.) in order to diminish friction; oil or grease (something).

to make slippery or smooth; apply a lubricant to: to lubricate one's hands with a lotion.

to smooth over, as a difficulty or human relationship; ease: to lubricate the friction between enemies.

Slang. to provide with intoxicating drinks.

Slang. to bribe.

verb (used without object), lu·bri·cat·ed, lu·bri·cat·ing.

to act as a lubricant.

to apply a lubricant to something.

Slang. to drink or become drunk.

Origin of lubricate

1615–25; < Latin lūbricātus, past participle of lūbricāre to make slippery. See lubric, -ate¹

Related formslu·bri·ca·tion, nounlu·bri·ca·tion·al, adjectivelu·bri·ca·tive, adjectivelu·bri·ca·to·ry

[loo-bri-kuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ˈlu brɪ kəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectivenon·lu·bri·cat·ing, adjectiveo·ver·lu·bri·cate, verb (used with object), o·ver·lu·bri·cat·ed, o·ver·lu·bri·cat·ing.o·ver·lu·bri·ca·tion, nounre·lu·bri·cate, verb (used with object), re·lu·bri·cat·ed, re·lu·bri·cat·ing.re·lu·bri·ca·tion, nounself-lu·bri·cat·ed, adjectiveself-lu·bri·cat·ing, adjectiveself-lu·bri·ca·tion, nounun·lu·bri·cat·ed, adjectiveun·lu·bri·cat·ing, adjectiveun·lu·bri·ca·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for lubricate

grease, oil, anoint, smear, make, lard, smooth, slick, wax, cream, lube, tallow

Examples from the Web for lubricate

Contemporary Examples of lubricate

Beauty, fame, It Girl status, and old money (never new) all lubricate the entry process.
Inside London’s Hottest Celebrity Haunt—But How Long Will Chiltern Firehouse Burn?
Lizzie Crocker
June 9, 2014

Historical Examples of lubricate

It will be proper to lubricate the knife with kerosene after the first mark is made.
On Laboratory Arts
Richard Threlfall
Lubricate the two stop-cocks with resin ointment (Fig. 137).
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique
John William Henry Eyre
The next operation after moulding the bullets is to lubricate them.
Pistol and Revolver Shooting
A. L. A. Himmelwright
In medicine, substances which are calculated to soften and lubricate the parts to which they are applied.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley
With silon covering to lubricate the cut, there's nothing to it.
Thin Edge
Gordon Randall Garrett

British Dictionary definitions for lubricate

lubricate

verb

(tr) to cover or treat with an oily or greasy substance so as to lessen friction

(tr) to make greasy, slippery, or smooth

(intr) to act as a lubricant

Derived Formslubrication, nounlubricational, adjectivelubricative, adjective

Word Origin for lubricate

C17: from Latin lūbricāre, from lūbricus slippery

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

Word Origin and History for lubricate

1620s, "to make slippery or smooth" (especially by the application of an oil), from Latin lubricatus, past participle of lubricare "to make slippery or smooth," from lubricus "slippery" (see lubricant (adj.)). Related: Lubricated; lubricating. Earlier verb was lubrify (1610s), from Medieval Latin lubrificare.