Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

sonicate

verb son·i·cate \ ˈsä-nə-ˌkāt \

Definition of sonicate

sonicated; sonicating
transitive verb
: to disrupt (something) by exposure to high-frequency sound waves
  • sonicate bacterial cells
—

sonication

play \ˌsä-nə-ˈkā-shən\ noun

Origin and Etymology of sonicate

sonic + 4-ate

Medical Dictionary

1

sonicate

transitive verb son·i·cate \ ˈsän-ə-ˌkāt \

medical Definition of sonicate

sonicated; sonicating
: to disrupt (as bacterial cells) by exposure to high-frequency sound waves
—

sonication

play \ˌsän-ə-ˈkā-shən\ noun
2

sonicate

noun son·i·cate \ -kət \

medical Definition of sonicate

: a product of sonication
  • a bacterial sonicate

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up sonicate? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

festinate

play

to hasten

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. exculpatory 'tending or serving to exculpate'

  2. ideologue 'an often blindly partisan advocate or adherent of a particular ideology'

  3. socialism 'a way of organizing a society in which major industries are owned and controlled by the government'

  4. uphold 'to let stand'

  5. due process 'a course of formal proceedings (as judicial proceedings)'

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

sonicate

Test Your Vocabulary

Test Your Emoji Exceptionalism

  • test-your-emoji-exceptionalism-written-with-a-lot-of-emoji
  • What is this emoji intended to represent: 🤳
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games