saturate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause (a substance) to unite with the greatest possible amount of another substance, through solution, chemical combination, or the like.
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to charge to the utmost, as with magnetism.
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to soak, impregnate, or imbue thoroughly or completely.
to saturate a sponge with water; a town saturated with charm.
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to destroy (a target) completely with bombs and missiles.
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to send so many planes over (a target area) that the defensive electronic tracking equipment becomes ineffective.
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to furnish (a market) with goods to its full purchasing capacity.
verb (used without object)
adjective
noun
verb
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to fill, soak, or imbue totally
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to make (a chemical compound, vapour, solution, magnetic material, etc) saturated or (of a compound, vapour, etc) to become saturated
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(tr) military to bomb or shell heavily
adjective
Synonym Usage
See wet.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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saturatesimple
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saturatessimple
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have saturatedperfect
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has saturatedperfect
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am saturatingprogressive
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are saturatingprogressive
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is saturatingprogressive
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have been saturatingperfect progressive
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has been saturatingperfect progressive
Past
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saturatedsimple
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had saturatedperfect
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was saturatingprogressive
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were saturatingprogressive
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had been saturatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of saturate
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin saturātus (past participle of saturāre “to fill”), equivalent to satur- “full, well-fed” ( see sad) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
The verb saturate means to cause something to be fully soaked to the point where it can't take on anything else. A heavy rainstorm can saturate the ground, leaving puddles on the lawn because no more water can be absorbed. The word saturate comes from the Latin word saturatus, meaning "to fill full, sate, drench." Saturate is often used to describe the aftermath of a big rainstorm, but other things can be saturated as well. If you're a workaholic, you might saturate all your free time with work, leaving no time to spend with your family. In chemistry, saturate describes causing one substance, like a solution, to take on the greatest amount of another substance.
Vocabulary lists containing saturate
Tangerine
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100 SAT words Beginning with "S"
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The Martian
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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 toxic content, AI-generated rumor cycles and coordinated inauthentic activity that already saturate the information environment are now sufficient, on their own, to move prediction-market prices in profitable directions.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
These creations, often presented as real, saturate social feeds with content ranging from fake Spotify bands to TikTok videos claiming to show explosions on the frontlines in Ukraine.
From Barron's • Nov. 26, 2025
“It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”
From BBC • Nov. 26, 2024
But small-time producers already situated within a country’s borders can saturate the market.
From Salon • Nov. 14, 2024
Strange how one person can saturate a room with vitality, with excitement.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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.
