vaccinate
Americanverb (used with object)
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vaccinates,
present (3rd person singular)
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vaccinated,
past participle, past
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vaccinating
present participle
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to inoculate with the vaccine of cowpox so as to render the subject immune to smallpox.
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to inoculate with the modified virus of any of various other diseases, as a preventive measure.
verb (used without object)
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vaccinates,
present (3rd person singular)
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vaccinated,
past participle, past
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vaccinating
present participle
verb
Usage
What’s the difference between vaccinate, inoculate, and immunize? In the context of medicine, vaccinate, inoculate, and immunize are often used in overlapping ways, and for good reason—they all involve introducing a substance (especially a vaccine) into a person’s body with the goal of preventing them from getting a particular disease. Vaccinate is the most specific of the three terms, because it always involves introducing a vaccine, which usually consists of a small amount of a killed, weakened, or otherwise modified version of a disease (such as a virus or bacterium). While inoculate has other meanings outside the context of medicine, in modern healthcare it’s typically used interchangeably with vaccinate (though it’s used less commonly). Immunize is slightly different—it means to provide immunity from a specific disease. While the goal of vaccinating someone is often to immunize them, not all vaccines provide permanent immunity. Some vaccines provide what amounts to long-term immunity, while others only lead to a temporary protection, after which the body “forgets” how to make certain antibodies. In these cases, a booster shot or dose is often required, consisting of a follow-up vaccination to boost or renew the protection gained from the earlier vaccination. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between vaccinate, inoculate, and immunize.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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vaccinatornoun
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prevaccinateverb (used with object)
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revaccinateverb (used with object)
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unvaccinatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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vaccinatesimple
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vaccinatessimple
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have vaccinatedperfect
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has vaccinatedperfect
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am vaccinatingprogressive
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are vaccinatingprogressive
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is vaccinatingprogressive
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have been vaccinatingperfect progressive
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has been vaccinatingperfect progressive
Past
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vaccinatedsimple
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had vaccinatedperfect
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was vaccinatingprogressive
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were vaccinatingprogressive
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had been vaccinatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of vaccinate
First recorded in 1800–10; back formation from vaccination
Explanation
To vaccinate is to immunize someone against a disease. Babies are usually vaccinated against many diseases soon after birth. A vaccine is a type of medicine that makes you resistant (immune) to a disease like polio. To give someone such a medicine is to vaccinate them. You can use this word in a few ways. A doctor is usually the person who vaccinates a child (or older person) by administering a vaccine. You can also say the parents have vaccinated their children by making the decision to do so. Animals can be vaccinated too, like dogs are vaccinated against rabies.
Vocabulary lists containing vaccinate
"Laws are not the only way to boost immunization”: an editorial from Nature
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Excerpts from "Jacobson v. Massachusetts"
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An Explanation of Herd Immunity from "On Immunity" by Eula Biss
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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:
A frequently asked question is: “Did you vaccinate your children?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"When you think about the people who are choosing not to vaccinate their children, these are also the people that have medical hesitancy in general," she told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
"They may think there's problems with the vaccine, but there's a whole lot more problems if they don't vaccinate," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Gillison said it was better to vaccinate early to prevent future HPV infections.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
We imagined them liberating Angola and marching right on up the Congo River to vaccinate us all!
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Over the morning, the clinic vaccinates 10 infants, some of whom are classed by the NHS as "overdue".
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
The new U.S. vaccination guidelines are much closer to those of Denmark, which routinely vaccinates its children against only 10 diseases.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2026
Refusing to import chicken meat from the United States if it vaccinates is a tempting retaliatory measure.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 6, 2023
After all, she notes, with the exception of rabies, no one vaccinates against an infectious disease in people who are already infected.
From New York Times ● Oct. 10, 2022
If poor judgment is used in caring for the vaccinated hogs, and the person who vaccinates them uses careless methods, heavy losses from acute indigestion, blood poisoning, or hog-cholera may occur.
From Common Diseases of Farm Animals by R. A. Craig, D.V.M.
"I can't get him vaccinated, or enrol him in nursery or school," she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Vaccination only - badgers in a defined area will be vaccinated without prior testing.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
During a debate about New Zealand's response to the Covid pandemic on Wednesday, populist NZ First leader Peters was asked by China-born Green Party member Lawrence Xu-Nan: "Are you vaccinated?"
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Money: People are not vaccinated, because they’ve lost trust in the medical community.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
He’d been vaccinated against B, and he didn’t do drugs, so that ruled out C. Type A was usually caused by drinking contaminated water or eating tainted food.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Dr. Fauci chimed in: “There are no data or theoretical reason to believe that vaccinating early versus later in pregnancy would be preferred.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The JCVI, a scientific advisory committee that advises both the UK and Welsh government on vaccinations, concluded in 2014 that vaccinating teenagers and young adults against MenB was "not cost effective".
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
Another study, based on data from Wales, found that vaccinating people against shingles may lower their risk of getting dementia by 20%.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 1, 2025
The hope is that by vaccinating young children, they are not only protected from catching flu, but they will also not pass the virus on to others.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2025
All of the other Zanmi Lasante projects in the villages around Cange had been interrupted—its programs for women’s literacy, for vaccinating children, for sanitation and clean water, for distributing condoms and other AIDS-prevention measures.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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.
