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
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salivatessimple
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have salivatedperfect
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has salivatedperfect
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am salivatingprogressive
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are salivatingprogressive
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is salivatingprogressive
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have been salivatingperfect progressive
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has been salivatingperfect progressive
Past
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salivatedsimple
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had salivatedperfect
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was salivatingprogressive
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were salivatingprogressive
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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
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Thirteen Reasons Why
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Hope Was Here
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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.
“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
After years of hustle, film and TV producer Stephen Love found himself in a situation many of his peers would salivate over: He was in four bidding wars.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 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
Sportsbooks salivate at the thought of gaining access to California’s 39 million residents, but the industry’s efforts thus far have failed.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 21, 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
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.
