pollinate

verb

pol·​li·​nate ˈpä-lə-ˌnāt How to pronounce pollinate (audio)
pollinated; pollinating

transitive verb

1
: to carry out the pollination of
2
: to mark or smudge with pollen

Examples of pollinate in a Sentence

The plants are pollinated by bees.
Recent Examples on the Web But seasonal mismatches between flowers and pollinators could pose problems for commercial fruit growers, particularly those that use native bees rather than bred honeybees to pollinate their crops. Harry Stevens, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024 Genetically different trees can pollinate each other and start to make fruits, which are carried off by birds. Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 29 Feb. 2024 Their black and white flowers are handsome and self-pollinating although bees may pollinate them too. Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 16 Feb. 2024 In fact, by pollinating flowers, bees help ensure a future population of frankincense trees (bees in turn get the sustenance to make healthy hives). Kate Donnelly, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 This species is not grown for its fruit, but instead used to pollinate other figs. Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 19 Feb. 2024 Temperature and precipitation act as cues to tell pollinators when to pollinate, and shifts in these cues have already started to push pollinators out of sync with plant blooms. Olivia Ferrari, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Feb. 2024 Salazar gradually made his way into the business, learning at age 10 how to pollinate flowers with a finger. Leila Miller, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2024 Long feared by people, bats increasingly are valued for gobbling crop-destroying insects and pollinating fruit, giving U.S. agriculture a yearly $3 billion boost. John Flesher, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pollinate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pollinate was in 1873

Dictionary Entries Near pollinate

Cite this Entry

“Pollinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pollinate. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pollinate

verb
pol·​li·​nate ˈpäl-ə-ˌnāt How to pronounce pollinate (audio)
pollinated; pollinating
: to place pollen on the stigma of

More from Merriam-Webster on pollinate

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