salivate
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
-
(intr) to secrete saliva, esp an excessive amount
-
(tr) to cause (a laboratory animal, etc) to produce saliva, as by the administration of mercury
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
salivatesimple
-
salivatessimple
-
have salivatedperfect
-
has salivatedperfect
-
am salivatingprogressive
-
are salivatingprogressive
-
is salivatingprogressive
-
have been salivatingperfect progressive
-
has been salivatingperfect progressive
Past
-
salivatedsimple
-
had salivatedperfect
-
was salivatingprogressive
-
were salivatingprogressive
-
had been salivatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of salivate
1650–60; < Latin salīvātus (past participle of salīvāre to cause to salivate); see saliva, -ate 1
Explanation
To salivate is to drool, or to produce saliva. People also figuratively salivate over things they desire. There are two related types of salivating. The first is simple: when you salivate, you produce saliva in your mouth. People salivate when they smell something delicious cooking or are hungry. You can also describe someone as salivating — metaphorically — over an attractive woman, a handsome man, an expensive car, a high-paying job, or anything else that's desirable. You can also say that people drool over these things they want, although they’re not literally drooling.
Vocabulary lists containing salivate
Planet Middle School
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Thirteen Reasons Why
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Hope Was Here
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Just writing about these sour belts is making me salivate.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2025
“I don’t even play football,” Taylor said with a laugh after his 9.92, a time that would make any college receivers coach salivate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2025
Two unbeaten champions with differing but equally effective styles produced a match-up of the highest level in a fight to make the boxing purist salivate.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2024
Nicholson was 6-foot-3, with long legs and an absurd wingspan — the sort of size at cornerback that coaches salivate over.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2024
I love sweet and sour chicken—it normally makes me salivate like a Saint Bernard—but I’m not hungry anymore.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
One salivates to know whether Woolf ever wrote back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2023
Pavlov's dog is the most well-known example of classical conditioning, in which a dog salivates in response to a ringing bell because it has formed an associative memory between the bell and food.
From Salon ● Jan. 16, 2022
While working class voters turn hopeful about the jobs the comet will provide, an evil tech mogul salivates at all of the rare Earth metals it contains.
From The Verge ● Dec. 7, 2021
He admits feeling lonely at times and can’t wait for in-person visits, just as he salivates thinking about going out for a meal at a Greek restaurant or a favorite steakhouse.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 16, 2020
Part of me is glad Kim is doing this and my mouth salivates at the thought of the food he will bring back.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
Among a certain set—particularly the one I grew up around in Manhattan—we salivated over whose name might be tarnished next.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Some preferred to include it in a stew, while others salivated over the golden-brown fried option.
From BBC ● May 11, 2024
Crowds salivated for the chance to catch him in person and watch him tape “War Room.”
From Washington Times ● Mar. 6, 2023
"Harry & Meghan" didn't begin with the focus people expected and salivated at the thought of consuming, but it is precisely the type of documentary series we should have expected from the couple.
From Salon ● Dec. 11, 2022
One of the smaller girls salivated so heavily the chocolate dribbled syruplike from the comer of her mouth.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
Investors are salivating over the initial public offering of Cerebras Systems.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
These candies will have your mouth puckering — and salivating for more.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2025
The 90% adoption stat is one that might have many IT leaders salivating, although, for Serhant, “It is, I think, the least sexy thing we do here.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
With new, deep-pocketed buyers of film and TV projects taking charge of a major studio, sellers are salivating, even as the company’s employees brace for a significant wave of layoffs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2025
Two large circular decals featuring the grotesquely salivating Werewolf emblem that symbolized the historical ferocity of the squadron adhered to the sides of the car.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
