percolate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause (a liquid) to pass through a porous body; filter.
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(of a liquid) to filter through; permeate.
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to brew (coffee) in a percolator.
verb (used without object)
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to pass through a porous substance; filter; ooze; seep; trickle.
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to become percolated.
The coffee is starting to percolate.
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to become active, lively, or spirited.
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to show activity, movement, or life; grow or spread gradually; germinate.
Interest in the idea has begun to percolate.
noun
verb
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to cause (a liquid) to pass through a fine mesh, porous substance, etc, or (of a liquid) to pass through a fine mesh, porous substance, etc; trickle
rain percolated through the roof
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to permeate; penetrate gradually
water percolated the road
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informal (intr) to become active or lively
she percolated with happiness
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to make (coffee) or (of coffee) to be made in a percolator
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Pronunciation
The pronunciation of percolate as , with an intrusive y -glide, results from analogy with words like circulate and matriculate, where the unstressed vowel following the k -sound is symbolized by a u spelling, making the y -glide mandatory. In similar words where is followed by some other vowel, the represents a hypercorrection. The pronunciation of escalate as is another such example. See coupon, new.
Other Word Forms
- percolable adjective
- percolation noun
- percolative adjective
- unpercolated adjective
Etymology
Origin of percolate
1620–30; < Latin percōlātus, past participle of percōlāre to filter. See per-, colander, -ate 1
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.
From that experience came the album’s title, and the sequencing that had the album open with the ethereal, percolating track “Inhale,” and then close with the hopeful, romantic “Exhale.”
From Los Angeles Times
“I remember seeing this architect jumping up and down on cardboard furniture. I could see there was something going on here. Something percolating,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times
The Vietnam War was percolating, and there were student demonstrations.
From Los Angeles Times
While discussions of the singularity have been percolating online for years, recent developments in AI technology and headlines warning of a potential AI apocalypse have elevated the topic.
From Salon
Conjecture about ChatGPT’s apparent addiction to the em dash has been percolating online for months.
From Salon
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.
