vibrate

[ vahy-breyt ]

verb (used without object)

, vi·brat·ed, vi·brat·ing.

1. to move rhythmically and steadily to and fro, as a pendulum; oscillate.
2. to move to and fro or up and down quickly and repeatedly; quiver; tremble.
3. (of sounds) to produce or have a quivering or vibratory effect; resound.

   Synonyms: echo

4. to thrill, as in emotional response.
5. to move between alternatives or extremes; fluctuate; vacillate.

verb (used with object)

, vi·brat·ed, vi·brat·ing.

1. to cause to move rhythmically and steadily to and fro, swing, or oscillate.
2. to cause to move to and fro or up and down quickly and repeatedly; cause to quiver or tremble.
3. to give forth or emit by, or as by, vibration.
4. to measure or indicate by vibration or oscillation:

   a pendulum vibrating seconds.

vibrate

/ vaɪˈbreɪt; ˈvaɪbrəˌtaɪl /

verb

1. to move or cause to move back and forth rapidly; shake, quiver, or throb
2. intr to oscillate
3. to send out (a sound) by vibration; resonate or cause to resonate
4. intr to waver
5. physics to undergo or cause to undergo an oscillatory or periodic process, as of an alternating current; oscillate
6. rare.
   intr to respond emotionally; thrill

Derived Forms

• viˈbratingly, adverb
• vibratile, adjective
• ˈvibratory, adjective
• viˈbrating, adjective

Other Words From

• vibrat·ing·ly adverb
• non·vibrat·ing adjective
• re·vibrate verb revibrated revibrating
• un·vibrat·ed adjective
• un·vibrat·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of vibrate¹

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin vibrātus (past participle of vibrāre “to move to and fro”); -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of vibrate¹

C17: from Latin vibrāre

Synonym Study

See shake.

Example Sentences

Jorge Alvarado, a 12th-grader at Academia Avance, a different charter school, was sitting in class when he saw a mirror shake, then he felt the floors vibrate and then saw the walls move.

From Los Angeles Times

“Loud and long sound waves can vibrate surrounding local structures into resonating with this additional sound energy,” adding to the problem of sound bleeding from the stages into the community, he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Analysis of the video footage clearly showed that -- depending on the sung pitch -- the vocal folds in the throat vibrate and collide 1000 to 1600 times per second, commensurable with the produced sound's frequency.

From Science Daily

When you hear a sound through your ear, what you’re really experiencing are changes in air pressure that cause your eardrum to vibrate.

From New York Times

All materials vibrate at a particular resonance.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• flutter
• pulsate
• resonate
• resound
• reverberate
• shiver
• throb
• tremble
• undulate