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percolate

verb
per·​co·​late | \ ˈpər-kə-ˌlāt How to pronounce percolate (audio) , nonstandard -kyə- How to pronounce percolate (audio) \
percolated; percolating

Definition of percolate

transitive verb

1a : to cause (a solvent) to pass through a permeable substance (such as a powdered drug) especially for extracting a soluble constituent
b : to prepare (coffee) in a percolator
2 : to be diffused through : penetrate

intransitive verb

1 : to ooze or trickle through a permeable substance : seep
2a : to become percolated
b : to become lively or effervescent
3 : to spread gradually allow the sunlight to percolate into our rooms— Norman Douglas
4 : simmer sense 2a the feud had been percolating for a long time
Other Words from percolate Synonyms Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about percolate

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Other Words from percolate

percolation \ ˌpər-​kə-​ˈlā-​shən How to pronounce percolation (audio) \ noun

Synonyms for percolate

Synonyms

bleed, exude, ooze, seep, strain, sweat, transude, weep

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Did You Know?

Percolate comes from a Latin verb meaning "to put through a sieve". Something that percolates filters through something else, just as small particles pass through a sieve. Water is drawn downward through the soil, and this percolation usually cleans the water. A slow rain is ideal for percolating into the soil, since in a violent rainstorm most of it quickly runs off. For this reason, drip irrigation is the most effective and water-conserving form of irrigation. Percolation isn't always a physical process; awareness of an issue may percolate slowly into the minds of the public, just as Spanish words may gradually percolate into English, often starting in the Southwest.

Examples of percolate in a Sentence

Sunlight percolated down through the trees. Rumors percolated throughout the town. There is nothing like percolating coffee over an open campfire. Coffee was percolating on the stove.
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Recent Examples on the Web

 The water percolates down to create under ground water ways as well as water falls and many streams and tributaries that coalesce or combine to form Ghana’s famous three rivers. — Alfred Oteng-yeboah, Quartz Africa, "Ghana’s pact with China for bauxite mining threatens to ravage a biodiverse forest," 21 Aug. 2019 The controversy surrounding Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen continued to percolate despite efforts by him to put a lid on it. — Arnessa Garrett, Dallas News, "Texas House speaker Dennis Bonnen in hot water, O'Rourke and Castro's debate performances, Dallas sued over sick leave policy," 1 Aug. 2019 With new-wave talent percolating in the minor leagues and a payroll that will soon provide room to plug holes, the future looks far better. — Larry Stone, The Seattle Times, "Historic or hysterical? Mariners’ magical start borders on the absurd, but oh what fun it is," 12 Apr. 2019 Lu went on to write new series (most recently, the sci-fi Warcross duology), but never entirely left Legend behind, percolating over the story and characters’ fates and publishing shorter novellas in the interim. — David Canfield, EW.com, "Marie Lu talks returning to Legend with Rebel: 'I didn't realize I wanted closure'," 8 Aug. 2019 From the health of the offensive line to the search for a No. 1 receiver, Washington has a slew of storylines percolating as fall camp arrives. — Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, "Hotline newsletter: Summary of Pac-12 athletic directors on key NCAA committees," 5 Aug. 2019 Crunk Witch makes campy, day-glo, video-game, club music with animal prints, falsetto shrieks, work-out grooves and percolating synth lines. — courant.com, "Strike a pose of neon defiance: See Crunk Witch at Cafe Nine," 5 Aug. 2019 The tunnel discussion is increasingly percolating in transit circles. — oregonlive.com, "Metro will study MAX tunnel underneath downtown Portland and Willamette River," 28 June 2019 There are two duckpin bowling lanes at Rec Room, an inconspicuous lounge that percolates behind a sidewalk sign, hand-lettered in chalk, in Fort Lauderdale’s rapidly changing MASS District. — Ben Crandell, sun-sentinel.com, "SummerTimeOut: Duckpin bowling at Rec Room in Fort Lauderdale," 20 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'percolate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of percolate

1626, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

History and Etymology for percolate

Latin percolatus, past participle of percolare, from per- through + colare to sieve — more at per-, colander

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More Definitions for percolate

percolate

verb
How to pronounce percolate (audio) How to pronounce percolate (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of percolate

: to pass slowly through something that has many small holes in it
: to spread slowly
: to make (coffee) in a special pot (called a percolator)

See the full definition for percolate in the English Language Learners Dictionary

percolate

verb
per·​co·​late | \ ˈpər-kə-ˌlāt How to pronounce percolate (audio) \
percolated; percolating

Kids Definition of percolate

1 : to trickle or cause to trickle through something porous : ooze Water percolated through sand.
2 : to prepare (coffee) by passing hot water through ground coffee beans again and again

Other Words from percolate

percolation \ ˌpər-​kə-​ˈlā-​shən \ noun
percolator \ -​ˌlā-​tər \ noun

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