VOOZH about

URL: https://www.wordreference.com/definition/percolate

⇱ percolate - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

percolate

Listen:

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈpɜːrkəleɪt/

US:USA pronunciation: IPAUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈpɝkəˌleɪt;/

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(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 © 2026
per•co•late /ˈpɜrkəˌleɪt;/USA pronunciation   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/USA pronunciation  n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
per•co•late  (v. pûr′kə lāt′;n. pûr′kə lit, -lāt′),USA pronunciation 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. Foodto brew (coffee) in a percolator.

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

n. 
  1. 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. 
    The pronunciation of percolate as (pûr′kyə lāt′),USA pronunciation 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)USA pronunciation is followed by some other vowel, the (y)USA pronunciation represents a hypercorrection. The pronunciation of escalate as (es′kyə lāt′)USA pronunciation is another such example. See coupon, new. 
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
percolate vb /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
 n /ˈpɜːkəlɪt; -ˌleɪt/
  1. a product of percolation
Etymology: 17th Century: from Latin percolāre, from per + cōlāre to strain, from cōlum a strainer; see colanderpercolable /ˈpɜːkələbəl/ adj ˌpercoˈlation n
'percolate' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!
Become a WordReference Supporter to view the site ad-free.
Firefox users: use search shortcuts for the fastest search of WordReference.
Copyright © 2026 WordReference.com
Please report any problems.