stimulate
Americanverb (used with object)
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stimulates,
present (3rd person singular)
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stimulated,
past participle, past
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stimulating
present participle
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to rouse to action or effort, as by encouragement or pressure; spur on; incite.
A childhood summer learning program was the first thing to stimulate his interest in mathematics.
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Physiology, Medicine/Medical. to excite (a nerve, gland, etc.) to its functional activity.
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to invigorate (a person) by a food or beverage containing a stimulant such as coffee or tea.
verb (used without object)
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stimulates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stimulated,
past participle, past
-
stimulating
present participle
verb
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(tr; usually passive) to fill (a person) with ideas or enthusiasm
he was stimulated by the challenge
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(tr) physiol to excite (a nerve, organ, etc) with a stimulus
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to encourage (something) to start or progress further
a cut in interest rates should help stimulate economic recovery
Synonym Usage
See animate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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stimulabilitynoun
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stimulaternoun
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stimulationnoun
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stimulatornoun
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overstimulateverb
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interstimulateverb (used with object)
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prestimulateverb (used with object)
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restimulateverb (used with object)
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superstimulateverb (used with object)
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nonstimulableadjective
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self-stimulatedadjective
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stimulableadjective
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stimulativeadjective
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unstimulableadjective
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unstimulatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stimulatesimple
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stimulatessimple
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have stimulatedperfect
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has stimulatedperfect
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am stimulatingprogressive
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are stimulatingprogressive
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is stimulatingprogressive
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have been stimulatingperfect progressive
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has been stimulatingperfect progressive
Past
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stimulatedsimple
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had stimulatedperfect
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was stimulatingprogressive
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were stimulatingprogressive
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had been stimulatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stimulate
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin stimulāt(us) “goaded” (past participle of stimulāre “to goad, incite,” from stimulus stimulus ( def. ) ); see -ate 1
Explanation
If the economy is starting to stall, the president can't just sit there. He has to stimulate—turn it on, bring it to life, perk it up. You can stimulate practically anything: a person, a conversation, a mind, or even the growth of a plant. Stimulate is often used to describe a physical or sexual sensation, but don't get bogged down in that kind of thinking. Often, a government will try to stimulate economic activity by creating a stimulus package. Or, say, for example, that I'm trying to sell my new song CD. In order to stimulate interest, I need to send out a sample song to all my friends. Unless, of course, my songs are no good.
Vocabulary lists containing stimulate
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
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"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
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Game Changer
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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:
The experiments showed that the device could stimulate nerve cells using both blue and red light.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
August home-price and property-investment figures are also due, following recent government efforts to stimulate housing demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Mandates can encourage deployment, but they can also inflate electricity prices, due to supply-and-demand imbalance, and stimulate imports.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
There are other ways to provide enrichment, like rotating toys every day to stimulate exploration, using puzzle feeder dishes to satisfy hunting behaviors and playing videos for your cat showing birds or fish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
They were giving her camphor and ammonia to stimulate her and to stop her vomiting.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
Hydroxyurea, a drug that stimulates production of fetal hemoglobin, has been shown to reduce pain crises and other complications—but it isn’t a cure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Sculptra is particularly interesting for this theme because it stimulates collagen production, rather than simply filling wrinkles.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
Increasing PGE2 activity repeatedly stimulates EP2 receptors on tissue-resident macrophages.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
It is used to end pregnancies through 10 weeks gestation in combination with the drug misoprostol, which stimulates contractions and softens the cervix, allowing tissue to expel.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
I recalled from my music research that enjoyable music stimulates the production of the hormone serotonin, which makes us feel joy and elevates our moods by altering our brain waves.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
The drug stimulated the release of two beneficial signaling proteins, HSP70 and midkine.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
That willingness resulted in excess demand that ultimately stimulated acute demand-pull inflation—that is, price increases caused by demand outpacing available goods and services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
“That’s really what stimulated the conversation of the possibility.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Five years ago, Rhi had a procedure to put a sacral nerve stimulation system in place - where the nerves controlling the bowel can be stimulated with a device implanted under the skin.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
When the radio was on, music has stimulated memory of times and places, complete with characters and stage sets, memories so exact that every word of dialogue is recreated.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
One of the most unexpected findings involved glucagon, a hormone generally known for raising blood sugar by stimulating the liver to release stored glucose.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
"By working our jaw muscles we are stimulating blood flow to the brain."
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
Perhaps Jets and Browns fans can join each other in a stimulating traipse down the Appalachian Trail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Their effects include stimulating insulin secretion, reducing appetite and increasing feelings of fullness, which can support weight loss.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
The results have been tantalizing, annoying, provocative, stimulating, and, at least until recently, substantially inconclusive.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
