meditate
Americanverb (used without object)
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meditates,
present (3rd person singular)
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meditated,
past participle, past
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meditating
present participle
verb (used with object)
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meditates,
present (3rd person singular)
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meditated,
past participle, past
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meditating
present participle
verb
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to think about something deeply
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(intr) to reflect deeply on spiritual matters, esp as a religious act
I make space to meditate every day
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(tr) to plan, consider, or think of doing (something)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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meditativenessnoun
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meditatornoun
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meditativeadjective
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unmeditatedadjective
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unmeditatingadjective
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meditatinglyadverb
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meditativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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meditatesimple
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meditatessimple
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have meditatedperfect
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has meditatedperfect
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am meditatingprogressive
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are meditatingprogressive
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is meditatingprogressive
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have been meditatingperfect progressive
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has been meditatingperfect progressive
Past
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meditatedsimple
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had meditatedperfect
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was meditatingprogressive
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were meditatingprogressive
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had been meditatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of meditate
First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin meditātus “contemplated, planned,” past participle of meditārī “to meditate, contemplate, plan”
Explanation
When you meditate, you silently calm or focus your mind for relaxation or spiritual reasons. People who meditate regularly can put a stop to racing thoughts, making them less distracted. When you meditate, you focus on your breathing while sitting calmly. Some people mediate to reduce stress, while others see it as part of their spiritual practice. Meditate can also be used to describe any deep thinking you do, like when you meditate on what to say to a friend who is feeling sad lately. The Latin word for "ponder," meditari, is the root of meditate.
Vocabulary lists containing meditate
Think Tank: Thought-Provoking Vocabulary
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50 Words from Jane Austen's "Pride & Prejudice"
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Schooled
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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:
In a 15-slide post on his personal Instagram account, Fifa president Gianni Infantino tells his critics to "meditate, pray or watch a football match" instead of "spreading hate and false rumours" about his leadership.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has told critics to "meditate, pray or watch a football match" instead of "spreading hate and false rumours" about his leadership, the governing body and the World Cup.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Buddhism-themed tourism is thriving and tens of thousands of locals and foreigners sign up every year for "temple stay" retreats where they eat simple monastic food, do chores and meditate.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
But you’re not just working for yourself when you meditate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
After we moved to Ridgeford, he'd ride his bicycle to a park along the bluffs and watch the sunset to "meditate on God's splendor," as he liked to say.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
She still uses her devices daily, meditates, and regularly checks in with how she is feeling.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2025
On the remarkable and moving “Little Gears,” a waltz-time number built atop piano and brushed drums, she meditates on a spider weaving a web.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025
Frazier said the garden has given her a place for more than just growing food — it’s where she meditates, connects with nature, and makes friends, too.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 30, 2023
As Williams meditates on the intersection of queer joy and food, inevitably his food business, the Gro House, comes to mind, specifically the way the name connects back to nature and growth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2023
She meditates a lot so during her class break it ain’t unusual to see her sitting on the desk with her legs folded and her arms crossed.
From "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake
He said he also meditated on the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
Chelsea, in Oregon, meditated on the decision of whether or not to have kids for about a year after she started doubting it during the pandemic.
From Salon ● May 10, 2025
I’ve never meditated, and as a writer on place, I was often in motion, crisscrossing the globe every week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2025
The 60-year-old said she came to “one of the biggest decisions of her life” after she went to a beach in Miami, prayed and meditated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2024
What is the voice, I meditated, but an expulsion of air; a few vapors scented with the curdled decoctions of the stomach, vegetables mulching and pulverized beef?
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Researchers were also interested in the subjective experiences participants had while meditating.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
After years of downloading meditation apps and consistently ignoring their notifications, I might even succeed at meditating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
He spends chapters meditating on trauma and fatherhood, on periods of feeling spiritually adrift, on coming to love a “majestic” faith tradition while remaining connected to the rowdy evangelicals of his childhood.
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026
All of these things that I’ve been meditating on for decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
He sat for a long time within the arms of a green, black, and gold leaf lounge chair, sipping coffee and meditating about the next few hours.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Definitions 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.
