stimulus
Americannoun
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something that incites to action or exertion or quickens action, feeling, thought, etc..
The approval of others is a potent stimulus.
- Synonyms:
- provocation, motive, enticement, incitement
- Antonyms:
- discouragement
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Physiology, Medicine/Medical. something that excites an organism or part to functional activity.
- Synonyms:
- stimulant
noun
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something that stimulates or acts as an incentive
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any drug, agent, electrical impulse, or other factor able to cause a response in an organism
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an object or event that is apprehended by the senses
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med a former name for stimulant
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Physiology Something that can elicit or evoke a physiological response in a cell, a tissue, or an organism. A stimulus can be internal or external. Sense organs, such as the ear, and sensory receptors, such as those in the skin, are sensitive to external stimuli such as sound and touch.
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Something that has an impact or an effect on an organism so that its behavior is modified in a detectable way.
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See more at classical conditioning
Usage
What does stimulus mean? In general, a stimulus is something that provokes or causes an action or response, as in Failing that test was the stimulus I needed to start studying harder. The plural of stimulus is stimuli. Its verb form is stimulate, which typically means to spur into action or to invigorate. In the context of science, a stimulus is anything that makes an organism or a part of an organism react in some way. For example, for most plants, sunlight acts as a stimulus that causes (stimulates) them to grow or move toward it. In economics, a stimulus is an injection of money into an economy by a government that’s intended to spur (stimulate) economic growth. This can take many forms, such as giving money directly to citizens via stimulus checks. In this sense, stimulus is usually used in the singular, especially in phrases like economic stimulus, stimulus package, and stimulus plan. Example: Congress has passed an unprecedented stimulus package in response to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the hopes of stimulating the economy at a time when so many people have lost income due to being out of work.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stimulus
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin: “a goad”
Explanation
A stimulus causes an action or response, like the ringing of your alarm clock if you didn't sleep through it. Stimulus is a word often used in biology — something that causes a reaction in an organ or cell, for example. In financial and economic contexts, a stimulus may be an incentive: the money you spend on your membership is a stimulus for hitting the gym. Though it can be a synonym for stimulant, they are not always used interchangeably. A stimulant is often a chemical or drug that increases activity — think caffeine. For more than one stimulus, use stimuli, not stimuluses.
Vocabulary lists containing stimulus
The Alchemist
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"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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This Week in Pop Culture: February 9 - 15, 2019
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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.
"Even using soup cans or books as a form of resistance provides stimulus to skeletal muscles and could be used by individuals for whom other options are not feasible."
From Science Daily • May 12, 2026
Amid all the spending on technological self-reliance, China’s government has so far held back on large-scale economic stimulus that could help get people to spend more.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
But pandemic-era stimulus packages that funded childcare helped ensure early educators kept their roles, and that thousands of programs could keep running.
From Salon • May 10, 2026
A monetary framework that lets falling production costs show up as lower prices for consumers, rather than offsetting them with compensating stimulus, has intellectual support and is worth discussing.
From MarketWatch • May 8, 2026
Starting around puberty, the limbic system becomes more sensitive to stimulus, which is one reason teenagers become both more emotional and more interested in having new and intense experiences.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
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.
