aerate

verb aer·ate \ ˈer-ˌāt \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Examples: aerate in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of aerate

aerated; aerating

transitive verb

1 : to supply or impregnate (something, such as the soil or a liquid) with air

2 : to supply (the blood) with oxygen by respiration

3 a British : carbonate 2

b : to make light or sparkling

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aeration

play \ˌa(-ə)r-ˈā-shən, ˌe(-ə)r-\ noun

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Examples of aerate in a Sentence

You should aerate the soil before planting the seeds.

Recent Examples of aerate from the Web

Even once the trucks were inside the fenced-off area, the vehicles could move only in specific zones to avoid compacting soil that needed to be properly aerated and maintained for gardens soon to be planted.

— keiko morris, WSJ, "In the Botanical Garden, Construction Workers Tiptoe Quietly," 6 May 2018
Essentially, each grain has to be turned by hand, to aerate it during the germination process.

— esther mobley, San Francisco Chronicle, "The Rake is a temple to beer’s most important ingredient: malt," 1 May 2018
The stuff requires energy to produce; huge machines are required to shred the material and keep it aerated.

— moises velasquez-manoff, New York Times, "Can Dirt Save the Earth?," 18 Apr. 2018
In the slow second movement, tiny touches of rubato aerated the songlike solo lines.

— zoë madonna, BostonGlobe.com, "Pianist Jan Lisiecki leads a youth movement at Symphony Hall," 20 Apr. 2018
This action aerates the batter or dough, which helps lighten the final baked good during baking.

— claire saffitz, Bon Appetit, "Room-Temperature Butter: When We Say You Need It, We Mean It," 16 Apr. 2018
Garden soils used in containers will generally be slow to drain and poorly aerated, causing plants to perform poorly.

— tim johnson, chicagotribune.com, "Pick garden containers that fit your taste and space — but ensure they drain properly," 10 Apr. 2018
On Disc 7, the Gnostic Trio (harp, guitar, vibraphone) elevates and aerates Mr. Zorn’s cyclical compositions.

— jon pareles, New York Times, "The Playlist: Pearl Jam Kicks Up a Fury, and 9 More New Songs," 16 Mar. 2018
In some of Riopelle’s canvases from the late 1950s, his mosaic-like structure becomes more relaxed and flickers of white paint aerate the dense fabric of pigment, perhaps an equivalent of Mitchell’s untouched canvas zones.

— karen wilkin, WSJ, "‘Mitchell/Riopelle: Nothing in Moderation’ Review: When Lovers Collide," 12 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'aerate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Faucet aerators and aerating showerheads can be easily installed by homeowners to cut water (and especially hot water) use by as much as 50%. A lawn aerator removes little plugs of soil in order to let air deep into the soil, greatly improving the quality of soil that may have gotten too compacted. And a pond aerator, such as a fountain, is a necessity for an ornamental pond with no stream feeding it, since oxygen in the water is necessary to prevent the growth of algae and allow fish to live.