stimulus

noun

stim·​u·​lus ˈstim-yə-ləs 

plural stimuli ˈstim-yə-ˌlī 

-ˌlē

: something that rouses or incites to activity: such as

a

: incentive

b

: stimulant sense 1

c

: an agent (such as an environmental change) that directly influences the activity of a living organism or one of its parts (as by exciting a sensory organ or evoking muscular contraction or glandular secretion)

Synonyms

• boost
• encouragement
• goad
• impetus
• impulse
• incentive
• incitation
• incitement
• instigation
• momentum
• motivation
• provocation
• spur
• stimulant
• yeast

Examples of stimulus in a Sentence

The pay raise was a stimulus for production.

Heat and light are physical stimuli.

The dog responded to the stimulus of the ringing bell.

Recent Examples on the Web

Now that states no longer have stimulus funding for child-care programs, experts predict many day cares will either beforced to close or raise tuition costs. —Joe Heim, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024

That didn’t happen in part because consumer spending remained strong, a byproduct of the unprecedented level of government stimulus during the pandemic. —Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024

For a half century, our country has offered no greater stimulus to our own inquisitiveness than George Will himself. 2024 marks Washington Post readers’ 50th anniversary as the first-crack beneficiaries of his singular wisdom and wit. —Mitch Daniels, National Review, 3 Apr. 2024

House reasoned the recent run-up in debt because of the pandemic is an example of how fiscal stimulus can lead to productivity—after all, Q2, Q3, and Q4 2023 all saw productivity increases of more than 3% compared with the prior quarter, according to the Bureau for Labor Statistics. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2024

Since it was passed, the CARES Act, which also included stimulus checks, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and emergency loans, has helped millions of taxpayers—and also been the subject of massive fraud. —Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024

Our fact-check sources: Pandemic Oversight, Feb. 9, 2023, Update: Three rounds of stimulus checks. —USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024

As part of a $1.9 trillion Covid stimulus bill, lawmakers approved an $86 billion package for multiemployer plans facing insolvency to apply for one-time federal grants that would keep them viable until at least 2051. —Mark Miller, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024

Nearly one-fifth of all new jobs created as a result of climate stimulus spending are expected to be in energy efficiency. —Jeff Sprau, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin

First Known Use

1684, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

stimulus

noun

stim·​u·​lus ˈstim-yə-ləs 

plural stimuli -ˌlī 

-ˌlē

1

: something that rouses or stirs to action : incentive

2

: something (as an environmental change) that acts to partly change bodily activity (as by exciting a sensory organ)

heat, light, and sound are common physical stimuli

Medical Definition

stimulus

noun

stim·​u·​lus ˈstim-yə-ləs 

plural stimuli -ˌlī  -ˌlē 

1

: stimulant sense 1

2

: an agent (as an environmental change) that directly influences the activity of living protoplasm (as by exciting a sensory organ or evoking muscular contraction or glandular secretion)

a visual stimulus