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
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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:
And that could stimulate more activity for companies involved in building and financing these projects, which will eventually trickle down to the broader economy, the Wells Fargo team said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Determining how muscle stem cells use TRF2 differently from cells in other tissues could eventually help researchers stimulate tissue repair without also raising the risk of cancer.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026
Other popular treatments include fractional laser resurfacing, which is meant to stimulate collagen production, as well as surgical procedures that remove fat from other parts of the body to inject into the face.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The strongest effects appeared in excitatory neurons, which stimulate activity in brain networks.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026
When within sight of the Earth on each of its orbits, it would stimulate outpourings of superstitious fervor among the Earthlings.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Many contain large amounts of caffeine, which stimulates the central nervous system and makes you feel more awake.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
"When you stimulate these serotonergic neurons, we can see that it stimulates activity in the auditory region in the brain," Trussell said.
From Science Daily ● May 15, 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
This ultimately stimulates the release of more glutamate, which helps send excitatory signals between brain cells.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
Knowing that it can be done stimulates you to try to do it yourself, but your eventual specific solution may or may not resemble that of the first inventor.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
“That’s really what stimulated the conversation of the possibility.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
For example, immune cells displayed different sugar patterns after being stimulated, similar to what happens during an immune response.
From Science Daily ● May 18, 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
This “Animal Farm” is ignorant of the fact that kids need to be stimulated by more than scatalogical humor to actually influence their perspectives, rather than cater to their existing tastes and knowledge.
From Salon ● May 3, 2026
The smell and taste of the bacon had stimulated his appetite mightily, and he was still hungry.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Their effects include stimulating insulin secretion, reducing appetite and increasing feelings of fullness, which can support weight loss.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Egg freezing involves stimulating the ovaries with hormone injections before mature eggs are surgically retrieved and preserved for possible future use through in vitro fertilization.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
On the other hand, variety can be stimulating.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
IVF involves stimulating the ovaries to produce eggs, retrieving them, fertilising them in a laboratory and then implanting the resulting embryo back into the womb.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
He reminisced about the stimulating conversations that took place in rustic pubs over warm beer.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
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.
