percolate
verb /ˈpɜːkəleɪt/
/ˈpɜːrkəleɪt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they percolate | /ˈpɜːkəleɪt/ /ˈpɜːrkəleɪt/ |
| he / she / it percolates | /ˈpɜːkəleɪts/ /ˈpɜːrkəleɪts/ |
| past simple percolated | /ˈpɜːkəleɪtɪd/ /ˈpɜːrkəleɪtɪd/ |
| past participle percolated | /ˈpɜːkəleɪtɪd/ /ˈpɜːrkəleɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form percolating | /ˈpɜːkəleɪtɪŋ/ /ˈpɜːrkəleɪtɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) (of a liquid, gas, etc.) to move gradually through a surface that has very small holes or spaces in it
- Water had percolated down through the rocks.
- Nitrates may take 20 years to percolate through to the underground streams.
- [intransitive] to gradually become known or spread through a group or society
- It had percolated through to us that something interesting was about to happen.
- Changes percolate through gradually.
- [transitive, intransitive] percolate (something) to make coffee in a percolator; to be made in this way
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from Latin percolat- ‘strained through’, from the verb percolare, from per- ‘through’ + colare ‘to strain’ (from colum ‘strainer’).