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
Related Words
See wet.
Other Word Forms
- desaturate verb (used with object)
- oversaturate verb (used with object)
- saturater noun
Etymology
Origin of saturate
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin saturātus (past participle of saturāre “to fill”), equivalent to satur- “full, well-fed” ( sad ) + -ātus -ate 1
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.
Ancora offers a much more affordable waterfront lifestyle for those buyers who are priced out of South Florida’s more saturated markets.
From MarketWatch
In contrast to Kennedy’s declaration in January that the U.S. was “ending the war on saturated fat,” the heart association continues to recommend unsaturated fat sources over saturated ones for the sake of cardiovascular health.
From Los Angeles Times
“Conditions remain dangerous because the ground is already saturated, meaning it will take much less rain to trigger flooding, road closures and damage,” Green posted on X.
From MarketWatch
With the premium smartphone market widely seen as saturated, Cook has increasingly turned to selling digital content and services to the company's vast existing base of users.
From Barron's
"The industry is saturated, competition is fierce, and with AI, shifting platforms, and changing consumer behaviour, marketing is about to get significantly harder."
From BBC
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.
