levitate

verb

lev·i·tate | \ˈle-və-ˌtāt

levitated; levitating

Definition of levitate

intransitive verb

: to rise or float in or as if in the air especially in seeming defiance of gravitation

transitive verb

: to cause to levitate

Examples of levitate in a Sentence

The woman levitated above the stage. The magician claimed he could levitate a car.

Recent Examples on the Web

But creating a system that would constantly filter out air would be difficult, and the amount of electricity required to magnetically levitate pods made the venture too expensive. — Aditi Shrikant, Vox, "A quick guide to hyperloops, Richard Branson’s latest boondoggle," 12 Oct. 2018 Ammons and Campbell said the 12-year-old was levitating above the bed, unconscious. — Marisa Kwiatkowski, Indianapolis Star, "The exorcisms of Latoya Ammons," 25 Jan. 2014 The helicopter will attempt to fly through the Martian air to see if vehicles can even levitate on Mars, where the atmosphere is 100 times thinner than that of Earth. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "The Mars Helicopter is happening, y’all," 11 May 2018 The Dome, contrary to prediction, didn’t actually levitate from all the love being ladled around. — Craig Hlavaty, Houston Chronicle, "The story of the 15-year-old guru who came to the Astrodome to save the world," 12 Apr. 2018 The main wing, a modified glass box, overhangs the foundation and appears to levitate. — Maureen C. Gilmer, Indianapolis Star, "They didn't have the highest bid for dream home, but a simple letter sealed the deal," 25 May 2018 Backlit by a bewitching blend of blue and soft yellow, the crucifix seems to levitate. — Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘Shesus’ lives — and rocks — in Ray of Light’s ‘Superstar’," 19 May 2018 Ultron recruits Quicksilver—who is super fast—and Scarlett Witch—who has vague, ever-changing mind control and levitating powers. — Eliana Dockterman, Time, "Avengers: Infinity War Is Almost Here. Here’s What to Know About the Marvel Cinematic Universe Before You Go," 23 Apr. 2018 The finished volume is a funky panoply of arabesques, polygons and polyhedra, a fantasy of spikes, spines and spires, left levitating in white space or emerging spectrally from backgrounds dark as night. — Christoph Irmscher, WSJ, "‘The Art and Science of Ernst Haeckel’ Review: The Zoologist as Artist," 13 Apr. 2018

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