vaccinate

verb

vac·​ci·​nate ˈvak-sə-ˌnāt 

vaccinated; vaccinating

transitive verb

: to administer a vaccine to usually by injection

intransitive verb

: to perform or practice vaccination

vaccinator

ˈvak-sə-ˌnā-tər 

noun

Examples of vaccinate in a Sentence

We vaccinate all the animals that come to our shelter.

Recent Examples on the Web

When vaccines became available, tribes became national public health leaders by testing and vaccinating their own members and opening their clinics and hospitals to the general public. —Suzette Brewer, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2025

That is why current CDC guidance suggests infants are vaccinated in the hours after birth. —Sony Salzman, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2025

Social media users have frequently pointed to that occasional lower autism rate as a reason not to vaccinate children. —Bart Jansen, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025

Getting vaccinated is the best way to prevent influenza and the serious complications that can result from it — especially for those with high-risk conditions like asthma. —Dr. Kristina Bryant, Boston Herald, 21 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "to inoculate with fluid from a cowpox pustule," back-formation from vaccination; in later extended sense, in part borrowed from French vacciner, verbal derivative of vaccin vaccine

First Known Use

1882, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

vaccinate

verb

vac·​ci·​nate ˈvak-sə-ˌnāt 

vaccinated; vaccinating

: to give a vaccine to usually by injection

vaccinator

-ˌnāt-ər 

noun

Medical Definition

vaccinate

1 of 2 verb

vac·​ci·​nate ˈvak-sə-ˌnāt 

vaccinated; vaccinating

transitive verb

1

: to inoculate (a person) with cowpox virus in order to produce immunity to smallpox

2

: to administer a vaccine to usually by injection

intransitive verb

: to perform or practice vaccination

vaccinate

2 of 2 noun

vac·​ci·​nate ˈvak-sə-ˌnāt  -nət 

: a vaccinated individual