palpate
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
palpates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
palpated,
past participle, past
-
palpating
present participle
adjective
verb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
palpatesimple
-
palpatessimple
-
have palpatedperfect
-
has palpatedperfect
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am palpatingprogressive
-
are palpatingprogressive
-
is palpatingprogressive
-
have been palpatingperfect progressive
-
has been palpatingperfect progressive
Past
-
palpatedsimple
-
had palpatedperfect
-
was palpatingprogressive
-
were palpatingprogressive
-
had been palpatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of palpate1
First recorded in 1840–50; from Latin palpātus, past participle of palpāre “to stroke, touch”; see palpus, -ate 1
Origin of palpate2
Explanation
To palpate is to examine with the hands, by pressing. Your doctor might palpate your abdomen if you have a pain in your stomach. You're most likely to come across the verb palpate in a doctor's office or another medical context. A veterinarian will palpate a limping dog to feel for broken bones or tight muscles, and it's common for a doctor to palpate the glands in your neck during a routine exam. The Latin root word is palpatus, which means "to touch."
Vocabulary lists containing palpate
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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The Cuckoo's Calling
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Once There Was
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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:
You want to reach out and palpate its wounds, that you might believe.
From New York Times ● May 29, 2019
Clayton: Yes, you palpate, exactly, you get a heart rate, you listen to the heart, you listen for the gut sounds depending on what species you’re working with.
From Slate ● May 31, 2017
On race day, track veterinarians palpate every horse with their hands, watch them jog in search of abnormalities in gait and determine their fitness to race.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 13, 2016
She wants them to have “haptic responsiveness,” so that the surgeon operating the robot can feel in her own hands the bounce or flab of an internal muscle, or palpate a liver from long distance.
From The New Yorker ● May 16, 2016
It is better then to palpate for the brachial as it lies beneath the inner edge of the biceps muscle.
From Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: with Chapters on Blood Pressure, 3rd Edition. by Warfield, Louis Marshall
“Monster” turns out to be but one of several words the author carefully palpates, finding it “male, testicular, old world. It’s a hairy word, and has teeth.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2023
He prods and palpates patients head to toe, searching for tiny tears where muscles attach to bone.
From Time Magazine Archive
Much depends on the sensitiveness of the fingers of him who palpates, and much upon the relation of the palpated artery to the surrounding, chiefly underlying, structures.
From Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: with Chapters on Blood Pressure, 3rd Edition. by Warfield, Louis Marshall
She palpated the lymph nodes under his neck and arms, down his torso, and checked his scars for healing, while the three of us waited for the scan images to appear on her computer.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 3, 2021
They aggressively palpated my uterus—which involves getting hold of it and squeezing it, basically.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2020
Dr. Pat Come, a Harvard cardiologist, pressed a stethoscope to Florence’s chest, back and neck, and palpated her belly.
From New York Times ● Sep. 16, 2018
They probed and palpated 130 local people, measured height and weight, and came home with a lot of blood.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 25, 2018
They palpated the lumps, the pea-shaped thing and the horseshoe-shaped thing.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
For centuries, doctors have used their hands as essential diagnostic tools -- exploring joints and palpating abdomens to assess a patient's health.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 1, 2024
A video features a couple of Kardashian-Jenners palpating a wall illuminated by blinking neon tube lights.
From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2021
Didn't I just touch my face at the supermarket after palpating the avocados?
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2020
She extended her arms and laid my son on the exam table, gently palpating his abdomen.
From Washington Post ● May 26, 2017
When the condition has lasted for some time, indurated strands or nodules can be detected on palpating the relaxed muscles.
From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis
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.
