Synonyms

vibrate

American

[vahy-breyt] / ˈvaɪ breɪt /

verb (used without object)

to move rhythmically and steadily to and fro, as a pendulum; oscillate.
to move to and fro or up and down quickly and repeatedly; quiver; tremble.
(of sounds) to produce or have a quivering or vibratory effect; resound.

Synonyms:

echo
to thrill, as in emotional response.
to move between alternatives or extremes; fluctuate; vacillate.

verb (used with object)

to cause to move rhythmically and steadily to and fro, swing, or oscillate.
to cause to move to and fro or up and down quickly and repeatedly; cause to quiver or tremble.
to give forth or emit by, or as by, vibration.
to measure or indicate by vibration or oscillation.

a pendulum vibrating seconds.

vibrate British

/ vaɪˈbreɪt, ˈvaɪbrəˌtaɪl /

verb

to move or cause to move back and forth rapidly; shake, quiver, or throb
(intr) to oscillate
to send out (a sound) by vibration; resonate or cause to resonate
(intr) to waver
physics to undergo or cause to undergo an oscillatory or periodic process, as of an alternating current; oscillate
rare (intr) to respond emotionally; thrill

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See shake.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of vibrate

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin vibrātus (past participle of vibrāre “to move to and fro”); see -ate ¹

Explanation

When you feel something vibrate, it trembles and shakes. A mild earthquake, for example, might make your chandelier vibrate. A hummingbird's wings vibrate, and so does an electric toothbrush. That extremely rapid back-and-forth movement is what happens when something vibrates. Something can also vibrate in a more musical, resonant way — the sound of an organ might vibrate through a church, for example. The root is the Latin word vibratus, which means "move quickly to and fro or shake."

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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.

These new songs, they vibrate very highly for me and I’m excited about experiencing and expressing that.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026

In PAT, tissue molecules that absorb light vibrate after being hit by short laser pulses, producing acoustic signals that can be measured and converted into detailed images.

From Science Daily • Feb. 6, 2026

Rare earths are likewise found in every smartphone, enhancing screen performance and enabling the phone to vibrate.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

At 15:00 BST, compatible phones will vibrate and make a siren sound for 10 seconds, even if set to silent.

From BBC • Sep. 6, 2025

The less my fingers vibrate, the quieter my heart.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023