reciprocate
- 01 C1 Advanced
to give and receive something at the same time between two people or groups.
to give and take mutually; to engage in an exchange of physical goods or formal privileges.
Simple“The two countries agreed to reciprocate by lowering taxes on each other's goods.”
In context“The university agreed to reciprocate the arrangement, allowing visiting students to access the same research facilities as local candidates.”
- 02 C2 Proficiency
to move backwards and forwards in a straight line, like a part in an engine.
to move backward and forward alternately. Typically used in mechanical contexts to describe the motion of a piston or saw blade.
Simple“The needle on the sewing machine reciprocates quickly to join the fabric together.”
In context“The internal combustion engine relies on a piston that reciprocates within a cylinder to convert pressure into rotating motion.”
UsageThe verb is often used as a participle (reciprocating) to describe a type of engine or tool.
Synonymsoscillatealternate
“Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, had said early on Tuesday that Tehran would reciprocate immediately if Washington honoured its commitments under a June memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was intended to halt the conflict.”
“We impose our hopes and desires on others, hopes and desires of which they are often unaware, or care not to reciprocate, or cannot reciprocate in the way we would wish.”
From Latin recīprocātus, perfect passive participle of recīprocō (“to move back and forth”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from reciprocus (“back an forth, reciprocal, alternating”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix), itself possibly from a phrase such as reque proque (“back and forth”), from re- (“back”), prō (“forwards”) and -que (“and”). See also reciprocal. Compare French réciproquer.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.