germinate
verb /ˈdʒɜːmɪneɪt/
/ˈdʒɜːrmɪneɪt/
[intransitive, transitive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they germinate | /ˈdʒɜːmɪneɪt/ /ˈdʒɜːrmɪneɪt/ |
| he / she / it germinates | /ˈdʒɜːmɪneɪts/ /ˈdʒɜːrmɪneɪts/ |
| past simple germinated | /ˈdʒɜːmɪneɪtɪd/ /ˈdʒɜːrmɪneɪtɪd/ |
| past participle germinated | /ˈdʒɜːmɪneɪtɪd/ /ˈdʒɜːrmɪneɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form germinating | /ˈdʒɜːmɪneɪtɪŋ/ /ˈdʒɜːrmɪneɪtɪŋ/ |
- germinate (something) when the seed of a plant germinates or is germinated, it starts to grow
- (figurative) An idea for a novel began to germinate in her mind.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryGerminate is used with these nouns as the subject:- seed
Word Originlate 16th cent.: from Latin germinat- ‘sprouted forth, budded’, from the verb germinare, from germen, germin- ‘sprout, seed’.