pollinate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pollinatesimple
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pollinatessimple
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have pollinatedperfect
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has pollinatedperfect
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am pollinatingprogressive
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are pollinatingprogressive
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is pollinatingprogressive
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have been pollinatingperfect progressive
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has been pollinatingperfect progressive
Past
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pollinatedsimple
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had pollinatedperfect
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was pollinatingprogressive
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were pollinatingprogressive
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had been pollinatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pollinate
1870–75; < New Latin pollin- (stem of pollen ) pollen + -ate 1
Explanation
To pollinate is to move the pollen from one plant to another. When a bee, for example, pollinates a flower, it helps the plant reproduce. You know what they say about the birds and the bees... In some cases, plants pollinate with the help of the wind, while often it takes an insect or bird moving the grainy substance called pollen between plants. This process involves pollen being transferred to the female parts of a plant, where fertilization takes place. Pollinate comes from the Latin word pollination, and its root, pollen, or "fine flour."
Vocabulary lists containing pollinate
Life Science: Plants
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Buzzwords for National Honey Bee Day
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Life Science IV
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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.
The insects were identified as Andrena regularis, commonly called the "regular mining bee," a solitary wild bee species that nests underground and helps pollinate crops and wild plants.
From Science Daily • May 28, 2026
“Despite their disgusting appearance,” lovebugs provide environmental benefits, too, the video notes: The adults pollinate flowers, while the larvae aid the natural composting of soil.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2025
While some bee-keepers aim only to produce honey, many others rent out their hives to farmers who need the insects to pollinate their crops.
From BBC • May 31, 2025
Insects are essential members of the web of life that pollinate many flowering plants, serve as a food source for birds and animals, and perform other important ecological services.
From Salon • Dec. 30, 2024
When the bees needed to pollinate, he’d gone to find a field of blooming flowers, and that’s where he met Fiona, who was sleeping among them.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
