reticulate
Americanadjective
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netted; covered with a network.
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Botany. having the veins or nerves disposed like the threads of a net.
verb (used with object)
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to form into a network.
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to cover or mark with a network.
verb (used without object)
adjective
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in the form of a network or having a network of parts
a reticulate leaf
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resembling, covered with, or having the form of a net
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reticulate
1650–60; < Latin rēticulātus net-like, equivalent to rēticul ( um ) reticle + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To reticulate is to form a type of net or network. Reticulating is an activity that creates a net or network. Linking a group of computers into a shared network reticulates them. A spider spinning a web is doing a form of reticulating. A businessperson making connections with many colleagues is reticulating by creating a social network with them. The key to any form of reticulating is that it makes connections: it links people or things in a type of net.
Vocabulary lists containing reticulate
"The Deep," Vocabulary from the short story
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Vocabulary from Readings 1, Unit 4
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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:
"For decades, the question of how reticulate veins form has remained open, and finally we have a plausible answer" in Chinese money plants' Voronoi patterns.
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026
A leaf has reticulate venation whereas leaflets show parallel venation.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Monocots have leaves with reticulate, net-like venation and dicot leaves have parallel venation.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
In dicots, however, the veins of the leaf have a net-like appearance, forming a pattern known as reticulate venation.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Osteocephalus pearsoni can be distinguished most readily from other members of the genus by the brown reticulate pattern on the venter, round brown spots on the flanks, and smooth skin on the flanks.
From A Synopsis of Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Osteocephalus by Duellman, William E.
The five-year-old female is a reticulated python and is native to south east Asia.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2024
Genetic studies have found that giraffe DNA falls into four distinct clusters: the Northern giraffe, the reticulated giraffe, the Masai giraffe and the Southern giraffe.
From New York Times ● Feb. 19, 2024
However, such incidents have only been reliably documented in Asia, and with snakes known as reticulated pythons.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 16, 2024
Kendi means ‘loved one’ in Swahili, paying homage to the language spoken in Kenya, where reticulated giraffes can be found in the wild.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 23, 2023
Anyway, after seeing Galapagos tortoises, reticulated pythons, and puff adders, the Pigman dragged us over to the Primate Building, more popularly known as the monkey house.
From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel
Cardono's keen black eyes, twinkling hither and thither, a myriad crows' feet reticulating out from their corners like spiders' webs, took in the landscape, and every object in it.
From The Firebrand by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)
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.
