What does "stimulate" mean?

1. (to encourage growth or activity) to make something happen or develop more quickly, especially an economy or a process. 2. (to excite interest or thinking) to make someone feel interested or excited about something, or to make their brain more active. 3. (biological response) to make a part of the body or a plant start working or react to something.

How do you use "stimulate"?

Often used with abstract nouns like 'economy', 'growth', or 'demand'. Frequently used in medical and biological contexts with 'cells', 'nerves', or 'organs'.

stimulate

US //ˈstɪmjəˌɫeɪt// UK //stˈɪmjʊlˌeɪt// stim·u·late

1 to encourage growth or activity (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

to make something happen or develop more quickly, especially an economy or a process.

to encourage or promote the development of or increased activity in a system or process.

Example

The government lowered interest rates to stimulate the economy and encourage spending.

Example

The central bank implemented several aggressive measures intended to stimulate domestic investment after a prolonged period of stagnation.

Usage

Often used with abstract nouns like 'economy', 'growth', or 'demand'.
2 to excite interest or thinking (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

to make someone feel interested or excited about something, or to make their brain more active.

to arouse interest, curiosity, or intellectual engagement in a person.

Example

The teacher used colourful pictures to stimulate the children's imagination.

Example

The professor's lecture was designed to stimulate critical thinking rather than simply provide a list of facts for memorisation.
- bore

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3 biological response (v.)
C1 Advanced Technical Science

to make a part of the body or a plant start working or react to something.

to arouse an organism or a specific body part to functional activity through a stimulus.

Example

Bright light can stimulate the eyes and make it hard to fall asleep.

Example

The hormone is known to stimulate the production of red blood cells in response to low oxygen levels in the environment.

Usage

Frequently used in medical and biological contexts with 'cells', 'nerves', or 'organs'.
- activate
- trigger
- suppress
- inhibit

Origin

Etymology tree Latin stimulus Latin stimulo Latin stimulatusbor. English stimulate Borrowed from Latin stimulātus, perfect passive participle of stimulō (“to urge, goad on”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin stimulus (“a sting or prick; a stimulus, goad”).