vibrate

UK: /vaɪˈbreɪt/ US: /ˈvaɪbreɪt/ ,(vī′brāt)

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

vibrates

v 3rd person singular

vibrating

v pres p

vibrated

v past

vibrated

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

vi•brate /ˈvaɪbreɪt/   v., -brat•ed, -brat•ing. 

1. to (cause to) move to and fro or up and down quickly and repeatedly;
   quiver;
   tremble: [no object]
   The whole house vibrated when the heavy truck went by.
   [~ + object]
   to vibrate a tuning fork.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

vi•brate  (vī′brāt), v., -brat•ed, -brat•ing. 
v.i. 

1. Physics to move rhythmically and steadily to and fro, as a pendulum;
   oscillate.
2. to move to and fro or up and down quickly and repeatedly;
   quiver;
   tremble.
3. Physics (of sounds) to produce or have a quivering or vibratory effect;
   resound.
4. to thrill, as in emotional response.
5. to move between alternatives or extremes;
   fluctuate;
   vacillate.

v.t. 

6. to cause to move rhythmically and steadily to and fro, swing, or oscillate.
7. to cause to move to and fro or up and down quickly and repeatedly;
   cause to quiver or tremble.
8. to give forth or emit by, or as by, vibration.
9. to measure or indicate by vibration or oscillation:
   a pendulum vibrating seconds.

• Latin vibrātus (past participle of vibrāre to move to and fro); see -ate¹
• 1610–20

vi′brat•ing•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 2. See shake. 
• 3. echo.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

vibrate / vaɪˈbreɪt/ verb

1. to move or cause to move back and forth rapidly; shake, quiver, or throb
2. (intransitive) to oscillate
3. to send out (a sound) by vibration; resonate or cause to resonate
4. (intransitive) to waver
5. to undergo or cause to undergo an oscillatory or periodic process, as of an alternating current; oscillate
6. (intransitive) to respond emotionally; thrill

Etymology: 17th Century: from Latin vibrāre

vibratile / ˈvaɪbrəˌtaɪl/ adjective

viˈbrating adjective

ˈvibratory adjective