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vibrate - 5 dictionary results
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vi⋅brate

  [vahy-breyt] verb, -brat⋅ed, -brat⋅ing.
Use vibrate in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
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.
4. to thrill, as in emotional response.
5. to move between alternatives or extremes; fluctuate; vacillate.
–verb (used with object)
6. to cause to move rhythmically and steadily to and fro, swing, or oscillate.
7. to cause to move to and fro or up and down quickly and repeatedly; cause to quiver or tremble.
8. to give forth or emit by, or as by, vibration.
9. to measure or indicate by vibration or oscillation: a pendulum vibrating seconds.
Origin:
1610–20; < L vibrātus (ptp. of vibrāre to move to and fro); see -ate 1

Related forms:
vi⋅brat⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
2. See shake. 3. echo.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To vibrate
vi·brate   (vī'brāt')   
v.   vi·brat·ed, vi·brat·ing, vi·brates

v.   intr.
  1. To move back and forth or to and fro, especially rhythmically and rapidly. See Synonyms at swing.
  2. To feel a quiver of emotion.
  3. To shake or move with or as if with a slight quivering or trembling motion: "Even as the film moved . . . to the more deadly fields of Vietnam, old hatreds vibrated in me" (Loudon Wainwright).
  4. To produce a sound; resonate.
  5. To fluctuate or waver in making choices; vacillate.
v.   tr.
  1. To cause to tremble or quiver.
  2. To cause to move back and forth rapidly.
  3. To produce (sound) by vibration.

[Latin vibrāre, vibrāt-; see weip- in Indo-European roots.]
vi'bra·tive, vi'bra·to'ry (-brə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Vibrate

Vi"brate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vibrate; p. pr. & vb. n. Vibrating.] [L. vibratus, p. p. of vibrare, v. t. & v. i., to snake, brandish, vibrate; akin to Skr. vip to tremble, Icel. veifa to wave, vibrate. See Waive and cf. Whip, v. t.]

1. To brandish; to move to and fro; to swing; as, to vibrate a sword or a staff.

2. To mark or measure by moving to and fro; as, a pendulum vibrating seconds.

3. To affect with vibratory motion; to set in vibration.

Breath vocalized, that is, vibrated or undulated, may . . . impress a swift, tremulous motion. --Holder.

Star to star vibrates light. --Tennyson.

Vibrate

Vi"brate\, v. i. 1. To move to and fro, or from side to side, as a pendulum, an elastic rod, or a stretched string, when disturbed from its position of rest; to swing; to oscillate.

2. To have the constituent particles move to and fro, with alternate compression and dilation of parts, as the air, or any elastic body; to quiver.

3. To produce an oscillating or quivering effect of sound; as, a whisper vibrates on the ear. --Pope.

4. To pass from one state to another; to waver; to fluctuate; as, a man vibrates between two opinions.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : vibrate
Spanish: vibrar,
German: vibrieren,
Japanese: 振動する
More Translations »

vibrate 
1616, from L. vibratus, pp. of vibrare "move quickly to and fro, shake," from PIE *w(e)ib- "move quickly to and fro" (cf. Lith. wyburiu "to wag" (the tail), Dan. vippe, Du. wippen "to swing," O.E. wipan "to wipe"). Musical vibrato (1861) reproduces the It. form.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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