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

Across all Tarrant County schools, almost 93% of kindergartners were vaccinated with the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine in the 2025-26 school year, down from almost 94% the year before. — Ciara McCarthy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 July 2026

The court affirmed its prior ruling upholding New York’s ban on religious exemptions to its law requiring schoolchildren be vaccinated. — Lauren Weber, Washington Post, 2 July 2026

But with the new exemption, the Air Force has the goal of vaccinating all of the recruits in this recruit class and will vaccinate all new recruits arriving at the base according to one of the sources. — Steven Beynon, ABC News, 1 July 2026

The patient this time is an adult who was vaccinated against the disease, DPH said. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2026

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