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

Denmark does not recommend vaccinating children for influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and chicken pox, among other common pathogens. —Lena H. Sun, Arkansas Online, 21 Dec. 2025

New York health leaders are urging families in Rockland County to get vaccinated for measles amid a recent spike in cases. —Mark Prussin, CBS News, 20 Dec. 2025

About 90% of kids that died from flu last season were not vaccinated, a CDC study found. —Youri Benadjaoud, ABC News, 19 Dec. 2025

Pediatricians spend more time persuading parents to get children vaccinated; oncologists counsel patients when full-body MRIs, which are not usually recommended by doctors, raise false alarms. —Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 19 Dec. 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