brachiate

[ adjective brey-kee-it, -eyt, brak-ee-; verb brey-kee-eyt, brak-ee- ]

adjective
  1. Botany. having widely spreading branches in alternate pairs.

  2. Zoology. having arms.

verb (used without object),bra·chi·at·ed, bra·chi·at·ing.
  1. to progress by means of brachiation.

Origin of brachiate

1
First recorded in 1825–35, brachiate is from the Latin word brāchiātus with branches like arms. See brachi-, -ate1

Words Nearby brachiate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use brachiate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for brachiate

brachiate

adjective(ˈbreɪkɪɪt, -ˌeɪt, ˈbræk-)
  1. botany having widely divergent paired branches

verb(ˈbreɪkɪˌeɪt, ˈbræk-)
  1. (intr) (of some arboreal apes and monkeys) to swing by the arms from one hold to the next

Origin of brachiate

1
C19: from Latin bracchiātus with armlike branches

Derived forms of brachiate

  • brachiation, noun

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