activate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make active; cause to function or act.
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Physics.
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to render more reactive; excite.
to activate a molecule.
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to induce radioactivity.
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to aerate (sewage) in order to accelerate decomposition of impure organic matter by microorganisms.
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Chemistry.
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to make (carbon, a catalyst, molecules, etc.) more active.
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to hasten (reactions) by various means, as heating.
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to place (a military unit or station) on an active status in an assigned capacity.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to make active or capable of action
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physics to make radioactive
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chem
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to increase the rate of (a reaction)
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to treat (a substance, such as carbon or alumina) so as to increase powers of adsorption
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physiol to prepare by arousal (the body or one of its organs (e.g. the brain)) for action
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to purify (sewage) by aeration
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military to create, mobilize, or organize (a unit)
Other Word Forms
- activation noun
- activator noun
- nonactivation noun
- overactivate verb (used with object)
- superactivate verb (used with object)
- unactivated adjective
Etymology
Origin of activate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Within Iran, the country's top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, said contingency plans were being activated.
From Barron's
Chemogenetics involves directing cell behavior with small external molecules, often medications or dietary compounds, that activate specially engineered switches inside targeted cells.
From Science Daily
An initial investigation suggested the driver had not activated a track switch.
From Barron's
With this approach, they found that well before the genome fully activates -- a milestone known as Zygotic Genome Activation -- an elaborate 3D scaffold of DNA is already taking shape.
From Science Daily
The initial responding officer activated his taser, so that it created a warning noise.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
