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:
Its observations reveal how an earlier encounter with another galaxy can disturb gas and stimulate star formation.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026
Fertility drugs that are used to stimulate egg production for retrieval and freezing are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
The experiments showed that the device could stimulate nerve cells using both blue and red light.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
It gives them more room to raise rates to fight inflation and space to cut them during a downturn to stimulate growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
The remaining four proposed factors—war, centralized government, climate, and resource abundance—appear to act inconsistently: sometimes they stimulate technology, sometimes they inhibit it.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Sleep stimulates growth hormone production, but growth hormone also sends signals back to the brain that influence when we wake up.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
In his view, the Fed may be adjusting its policy rate up toward a level that neither stimulates nor restricts economic growth.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
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
Many contain large amounts of caffeine, which stimulates the central nervous system and makes you feel more awake.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 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 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
This receptor was designed to activate G proteins directly inside mitochondria, which in turn stimulated mitochondrial activity.
From Science Daily ● May 16, 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
Giving blue ribbon winners free rides hadn’t stimulated much business.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
Galderma owns popular aesthetic products including Sculptra, an injectable aimed at stimulating collagen production, and Restylane, which is an injectable dermal filler.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
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
The ECB views 2.5% as the upper end of the range in which its key interest rate is neither stimulating nor restraining activity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
"By working our jaw muscles we are stimulating blood flow to the brain."
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
“Then I apologize, my lady! How terrible it must be to condescend to answer! Next time, I’ll try to think of something more stimulating to say.”
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
