gravitate

verb

grav·​i·​tate ˈgra-və-ˌtāt 

gravitated; gravitating

intransitive verb

1

: to move under the influence of gravitation

2

a

: to move toward something

b

: to be drawn or attracted especially by natural inclination

youngsters … gravitate toward a strong leader

—Rose Friedman

Did you know?

The force is strong in the family of words descended from the Latin adjective gravis, meaning “heavy”: gravitation has it, graviton has it, and gravitate has it, too. That force is gravity (gravity being another gravis descendent), a fundamental physical force that is responsible for bringing us literally back down to earth (or Tattooine, as it were). But you don’t have to be a full-fledged linguistic Jedi, young padawan, to know that gravity, like its Latin ancestor, also has figurative meanings, as does gravitate. When it first landed in the 17th century, gravitate meant “to apply pressure or weight,” and later it maintained its connection to literal gravity with a sense (still in use today) meaning “to move under the effect of gravitation.” It then, however, acquired a more general sense of “to move toward something” (such as toward a specific location), and finally a metaphorical sense of “to be attracted,” as in, “when choosing movies to watch she often gravitates toward space operas.”

Examples of gravitate in a Sentence

The guests gravitated toward the far side of the room.

The conversation gravitated to politics.

Voters have started gravitating to him as a possible candidate.

Many young people now gravitate toward careers in the computer industry.

Recent Examples on the Web

The drug is extremely affordable and accessible, which partly accounts for their popularity; in 2020, youth especially gravitated towards the gas, with 40% of tenth graders and 26% of eighth graders considered at risk of using the drug consistently. —Katixa Espinoza, Them, 10 Oct. 2024

Litchfield says that as consumers gravitate toward Goruck for packs and training gear, they are getting introduced to the expanding world of Goruck footwear. —Tim Newcomb, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024

What guides identity politics and voting Despite the assumption in Trump’s comments that voters gravitate toward a political candidate who shares parts of their identity, such as race or gender, that is not always the case. —Pawan Dhingra, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2024

Viewers immediately gravitated toward Smith because of her bubbly personality and transparency about her unhealthy relationship patterns. —Giana Levy, refinery29.com, 8 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin gravitātus, past participle of gravitāre "to exert weight or pressure, move downward by its own weight," from Latin gravis "heavy" + -itāre, iterative and intensive suffix (here perhaps taken as a semantically neutral verb formative) — more at grave entry 2

Note: The derivation has likely been influenced by partial phonetic overlap with gravitāt-, gravitās gravity.

First Known Use

1692, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

gravitate

verb

grav·​i·​tate ˈgrav-ə-ˌtāt 

gravitated; gravitating

: to move or tend to move toward something

Medical Definition

gravitate

intransitive verb

grav·​i·​tate ˈgrav-ə-ˌtāt 

gravitated; gravitating

: to move under the influence of gravitation