per·co·late | \ ˈpər-kə-ˌlāt 
, nonstandard -kyə- \
, nonstandard -kyə- \percolated; percolating
Definition of percolate
1a : to cause (a solvent) to pass through a permeable substance (such as a powdered drug) especially for extracting a soluble constituent
b : to prepare (coffee) in a percolator
2 : to be diffused through : penetrate
1 : to ooze or trickle through a permeable substance : seep
2a : to become percolated
b : to become lively or effervescent
3 : to spread gradually
allow the sunlight to percolate into our rooms— Norman Douglas
4 : simmer sense 2a the feud had been percolating for a long time
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Other Words from percolate
percolation \ ˌpər-kə-ˈlā-shən \ noun
\ noun
Examples of percolate in a Sentence
Sunlight percolated down through the trees.
Rumors percolated throughout the town.
There is nothing like percolating coffee over an open campfire.
Coffee was percolating on the stove.
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Recent Examples on the Web Glassman said the decision to nominate Lloyd for the position began to percolate in June.
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James Whitlow, baltimoresun.com, "Harford’s charter allows Glassman’s appointment of top administrative official to stand, despite council’s 4-3 vote against him," 16 Sep. 2020 One more win this week would signal that the Stars are past that stage and moving forward with a core that has needed years to percolate.
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Matthew Defranks, Dallas News, "Making progress: The Dallas Stars need one win to eliminate Avalanche, but that victory could mean so much more," 31 Aug. 2020 But prejudice and hate can still percolate beneath the surface.
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Dan Zak, Washington Post, "The duty and burden of the black police officer," 6 July 2020 Her sacking also comes as Starmer has promised to root out anti-Semitism that was allowed to percolate in the party under the leadership of his far-left predecessor Jeremy Corbyn.
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Fox News, "UK Labour leader sacks former left-wing rival for sharing article with ‘anti-Semitic conspiracy theories’," 25 June 2020 Clouds percolate through the day, and some showers or storms are likely by mid-to-late afternoon.
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Ian Livingston, Washington Post, "PM Update: Showers and thunderstorms likely through the evening," 22 June 2020 Protest forged by the young will continue to percolate.
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Phillip Morris, National Geographic, "To enact change in the world, we must protest," 6 June 2020 Highs in the upper 80s to lower 90s help to percolate clouds as the afternoon progresses with showers and thunderstorms becoming likely (60 percent chance) by late day, especially after 5 p.m.
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David Streit, Washington Post, "D.C.-area forecast: Heat raises storm threat through Saturday but welcome relief arrives Sunday," 4 June 2020 Trump, though, spent much of last week promoting a contrarian gambit that has been percolating in the right-wing media.
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Steve Coll, The New Yorker, "The Meaning of Donald Trump’s Coronavirus Quackery," 29 Mar. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'percolate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for percolate
percolate
verb English Language Learners Definition of percolate
: to pass slowly through something that has many small holes in it
: to spread slowly
: to make (coffee) in a special pot (called a percolator)
See the full definition for percolate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
percolate
verbper·co·late | \ ˈpər-kə-ˌlāt \
\percolated; percolating
Kids Definition of percolate
1 : to trickle or cause to trickle through something porous : ooze Water percolated through sand.
2 : to prepare (coffee) by passing hot water through ground coffee beans again and again
percolate
verbper·co·late | \ ˈpər-kə-ˌlāt \
\percolated; percolating
Medical Definition of percolate
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to cause (a solvent) to pass through a permeable substance (as a powdered drug) especially for extracting a soluble constituent
2 : to be diffused through
percolate
nounper·co·late | \ -ˌlāt , -lət \
, -lət \Medical Definition of percolate (Entry 2 of 2)
: a product of percolation
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Time Traveler for percolate
The first known use of percolate was in 1626
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