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gratulate

American  
[grach-uh-leyt] / ˈgrætʃ əˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

gratulated, gratulating

  1. to hail with joy; express joy at.

  2. to congratulate.

verb (used without object)

gratulated, gratulating

  1. to express joy.

gratulate British  
/ ˈɡrætjʊˌleɪt /

verb

  1. to greet joyously

  2. to congratulate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • gratulant adjective
  • gratulation noun
  • gratulatorily adverb
  • gratulatory adjective

Etymology

Origin of gratulate

1550–60; < Latin grātulātus (past participle of grātulārī to express joy), equivalent to grātul- express joy, congratulate, thank (derivative of grātus pleasing) + -ātus -ate 1

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.