pollinate

American  

[pol-uh-neyt] / ˈpɒl əˌneɪt /

verb (used with object)

Botany.

• pollinates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pollinated,
  past participle,  past
• pollinating
  present participle

1. to convey pollen to the stigma of (a flower).

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pollinate British  

/ ˈpɒlɪˌneɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to transfer pollen from the anthers to the stigma of (a flower)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pollination
  noun
• pollinator
  noun
• interpollinate
  verb
• overpollinate
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Participles

• pollinating
  present
• pollinated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pollinate
  simple
• pollinates
  simple
• have pollinated
  perfect
• has pollinated
  perfect
• am pollinating
  progressive
• are pollinating
  progressive
• is pollinating
  progressive
• have been pollinating
  perfect progressive
• has been pollinating
  perfect progressive

Past

• pollinated
  simple
• had pollinated
  perfect
• was pollinating
  progressive
• were pollinating
  progressive
• had been pollinating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pollinate
  simple
• will have pollinated
  perfect
• will be pollinating
  progressive
• will have been pollinating
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pollinate pollinates pollinated pollinating

A study from Kobe University suggests this unusual interaction reshapes how scientists understand the balance between plants and the insects that pollinate them.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2026

They will now investigate the sounds different plants make and whether other species make decisions based on them, such as whether to pollinate or hide inside them or eat the plant.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 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

Insects pollinate plants, provide critical protein for all kinds of baby birds and nourish the soil.

From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2024

They were mostly self-pollinating: that is, the crop varieties could pollinate themselves and pass on their own desirable genes unchanged, instead of having to hybridize with other varieties less useful to humans.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

In some plant insect relationships, the insect both pollinates the plant and uses the fruit as a place for its offspring to grow.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2026

The tequila bat feeds on the flowers of the agave—a kind of succulent—and pollinates them.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 11, 2023

It self pollinates as it has both male and female flowers and the opening and closing of doors in the palm house is enough passage of air for this to happen.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2021

“Each fig species has a specific wasp type that pollinates the flower inside the fruit,” he said.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 14, 2018

These cases where it is said that the black walnut pollinates the Persian regularly and is producing good crops of nuts, I would consider doubtful until I see the seedlings, their growth and characteristics.

From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the 43rd Annual Meeting Rockport, Indiana, August 25, 26 and 27, 1952 by Northern Nut Growers Association

At his roadside stand, Shafer still plans to sell honey from the bees that pollinated his trees.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

For many varieties, if you want a crop, then the flowers have to pollinated in the dark, often by hand.

From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026

Over the decades, that seed has grown into a wild and unruly tangle of misinformation and hysteria, amply pollinated by social media, wellness influencers, and a lack of science literacy.

From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2024

Plants that are pollinated by insects and have to defend themselves against herbivores have evolved to be better adapted to different types of soil.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2024

Some mutant individuals developed fruit without even having to be pollinated, resulting in our seedless bananas, grapes, oranges, and pineapples.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Teller’s bees were used for pollinating crops such as almonds on farms, and he also rescued bees before rehabilitating them and later renting them out for pollination.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026

Farmers pay Funkhouser to truck his bees across the country -- as far as the almond fields of California -- where they spend around two weeks pollinating crops.

From Barron's ● May 19, 2026

"We don't shy away from those conversations," Tanshi said, explaining that bats contribute to their ecosystems, such as by dispersing seeds and pollinating plants.

From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026

They are also, not incidentally, highly useful to human society, producing honey and beeswax — both of which are used in a wide range of products — while also pollinating the plants that feed us.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2025

Now clean cultivation and the chemical destruction of hedgerows and weeds are eliminating the last sanctuaries of these pollinating insects and breaking the threads that bind life to life.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• fertilize