pollinate

verb

pol·​li·​nate ˈpä-lə-ˌnāt How to pronounce pollinate (audio)
pollinated; pollinating

transitive verb

1
: to carry out the pollination of
2
: to mark or smudge with pollen

Examples of pollinate in a Sentence

The plants are pollinated by bees.
Recent Examples on the Web But in terms of music and culture and film and photography and our work with the AIDS Foundation, we’re cross pollinating all the time. Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Oct. 2024 Advertisement Among other barriers to relocation, western Joshua trees rely on a single species of yucca moth to pollinate them. Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2024 The party is hosted by the the animal sanctuary, which operates a vast property in Newtown where horses roam the trails, butterflies soar through the wide open sky and insects pollinate the memorial gardens that line lush green fields that spread for miles in every direction. Taylor Hartz, Hartford Courant, 3 June 2024 Grasses pollinate in the spring, trees and weeds during the summer and fall, and mountain cedar during the winter, according to Baylor College of Medicine. Shafaq Patel, Axios, 18 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pollinate 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pollinate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pollinate was in 1873

Dictionary Entries Near pollinate

Cite this Entry

“Pollinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pollinate. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

pollinate

verb
pol·​li·​nate ˈpäl-ə-ˌnāt How to pronounce pollinate (audio)
pollinated; pollinating
: to place pollen on the stigma of

More from Merriam-Webster on pollinate

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!