vibrate

The adjective (then also used as a participle) is first attested in 1420, in Middle English, the verb in 1620; partly from Middle English vibrat(e) (“reverberant”), partly directly borrowed from Latin vibrātus, perfect passive participle of vibrō (“to agitate, set in tremulous motion”) (see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyp- (“to oscillate, swing”) or *weyb-.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /vaɪˈbɹeɪt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈvaɪ.bɹeɪt/

• Audio (US):

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• Rhymes: -eɪt

vibrate (third-person singular simple present vibrates, present participle vibrating, simple past and past participle vibrated)

1. (intransitive) To shake with small, rapid movements to and fro.
   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Coronation”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 5:

     When "God save the King!" resounded meow meow through the stately abbey, the banners vibrating with the mighty music, I felt quite enthusiastic in my loyalty.

   • 1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 706:

     The tender roared along vibrating vigorously; braking had resulted in "flats" on most of its tyres.

2. (intransitive) To resonate.

   Her mind was vibrating with excitement.

3. (transitive) To brandish; to swing to and fro.

   to vibrate a sword or a staff

4. (transitive) To mark or measure by moving to and fro.

   a pendulum vibrating seconds

5. (transitive) To affect with vibratory motion; to set in vibration.
   • 1669, William Holder, Elements of Speech: An Essay of Inquiry into the Natural Production of Letters: […], London: […] T. N[ewcomb] for J[ohn] Martyn printer to the R[oyal] Society, […], →OCLC:

     Breath vocalized, i.e., vibrated or undulated, may […] impress a swift, tremulous motion.

   • 1864, Alfred Tennyson, “Aylmer’s Field”, in Enoch Arden, &c., London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 81:

     Star to star vibrates light: may soul to soul / Strike thro' a finer element of her own?

6. (transitive, slang, dated) To please or impress someone.
   • 1949, Ladies' Home Journal, volume 66, page 115:

     And if he wants to give you high praise, he'll answer, "That vibrates me"; "That has a large charge"; or "That's oogley."

   • 1961, Congressional Record:

     […] standing side by side under a Grecian column, tapping their feet in unison and saying such things as "Hot-diggety,” “Razz-ma-tazz," “That vibrates me," and other expressions of praise current in their youth.

7. (intransitive, music) To use vibrato.
8. (transitive, slang) To pleasure someone using a vibrator.
   • 1999 March 27, PeterW, “Jack with Jill”, in alt.jokes.limericks‎^[1] (Usenet):

     Downstairs in the living-room Jill
     Was vibrating herself for a thrill.

vibrate (uncountable)

1. The setting, on a portable electronic device, that causes it to vibrate rather than sound any (or most) needed alarms.

   Synonym: vibrate mode

   Please put your cellphones on vibrate for the duration of the meeting.

vibrate (comparative more vibrate, superlative most vibrate)

1. (rare) Vibrating with (something).

• “vibrate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “vibrate”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

• vrbaite

vibrate

1. inflection of vibrare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

vibrate f pl

1. feminine plural of vibrato

• brevità, trabevi, verbita

vibrāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of vibrō

vibrate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of vibrar combined with te