percolate

UK: /ˈpɜː^rkəleɪt/

US: /ˈpɝkəˌleɪt;/

US: (v. pûr′kə lāt′; n. pûr′kə lit, -lāt′)

Inflections of 'percolate' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

percolates

v 3rd person singular

percolating

v pres p

percolated

v past

percolated

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

per•co•late /ˈpɜrkəˌleɪt;/   v., -lat•ed, -lat•ing. 

1. to (cause a liquid to) pass through something that traps solid materials;
   to filter: [no object]
   While the coffee was percolating, we ate a few donuts.
   [~ + object]
   The new machine percolates the coffee in just under a minute.
2. to spread or grow gradually:
   [no object] The news about the upcoming firings percolated through the office.

per•co•la•tion /ˌpɜrkəˈleɪʃən/  n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

per•co•late  (v. pûr′kə lāt′;n. pûr′kə lit, -lāt′), v., -lat•ed, -lat•ing, n. 
v.t. 

1. to cause (a liquid) to pass through a porous body;
   filter.
2. (of a liquid) to filter through;
   permeate.
3. Food to brew (coffee) in a percolator.

v.i. 

4. to pass through a porous substance;
   filter;
   ooze;
   seep;
   trickle.
5. to become percolated:
   The coffee is starting to percolate.
6. to become active, lively, or spirited.
7. to show activity, movement, or life;
   grow or spread gradually;
   germinate:
   Interest in the idea has begun to percolate.

n. 

8. a percolated liquid.

• Latin percōlātus, past participle of percōlāre to filter. See per-, colander, -ate¹
• 1620–30

per′co•la•ble, adj. 
per′co•la′tive, adj. 
Pronunciation

The pronunciation of percolate as (pûr′kyə lāt′), with an intrusive y-glide, results from analogy with words like circulate and matriculate, where the unstressed vowel following the k-sound is symbolized by a u spelling, making the y-glide mandatory. In similar words where (k) is followed by some other vowel, the (y) represents a hypercorrection. The pronunciation of escalate as (es′kyə lāt′) is another such example. See coupon, new. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

percolate verb / ˈpɜːkəˌleɪt/

1. to cause (a liquid) to pass through a fine mesh, porous substance, etc, or (of a liquid) to pass through a fine mesh, porous substance, etc; trickle: rain percolated through the roof
2. to permeate; penetrate gradually: water percolated the road
3. to make (coffee) or (of coffee) to be made in a percolator

noun / ˈpɜːkəlɪt -ˌleɪt/

1. a product of percolation

Etymology: 17th Century: from Latin percolāre, from per + cōlāre to strain, from cōlum a strainer; see colander

percolable / ˈpɜːkələb^əl/ adjective

ˌpercoˈlation noun