germinate

verb

ger·​mi·​nate ˈjər-mə-ˌnāt 

germinated; germinating

transitive verb

: to cause to sprout or develop

intransitive verb

1

: to come into being : evolve

before Western civilization began to germinate

—A. L. Kroeber

2

: to begin to grow : sprout

waiting for the seeds to germinate

germination

ˌjər-mə-ˈnā-shən 

noun

germinative

ˈjər-mə-ˌnā-tiv  -mə-nə- 

adjective

Examples of germinate in a Sentence

methods used by gardeners to germinate seeds

Recent Examples on the Web

When the couple’s estranged, recovering addict son (Allyn) gets released from prison after a horrific accident and resumes his bull riding career along with his drug taking, a plan starts to germinate between father and son. —Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 12 June 2024

The warmer the temperatures, the quicker seeds germinate. —Betty Cahill, The Denver Post, 11 June 2024

Late-bloomer individual crabgrass plants might not germinate until weeks later. —Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 21 Mar. 2024

But isolating the bureaucracies too much risks germinating autonomous fiefdoms that are only nominally loyal to their party masters. —Christopher Johnson, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Latin germinatus, past participle of germinare to sprout, from germin-, germen bud, germ

First Known Use

1610, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

germinate

verb

ger·​mi·​nate ˈjər-mə-ˌnāt 

germinated; germinating

1

: to cause to sprout or develop

2

: to begin to grow : sprout

3

: to come into being : evolve

germination

ˌjər-mə-ˈnā-shən 

noun

Medical Definition

germinate

verb

ger·​mi·​nate ˈjər-mə-ˌnāt 

germinated; germinating

transitive verb

: to cause to sprout or develop

intransitive verb

: to begin to grow : sprout

germination

ˌjər-mə-ˈnā-shən 

noun