- to move or cause to move back and forth rapidly; shake, quiver, or throb
- (intransitive) to oscillate
- to send out (a sound) by vibration; resonate or cause to resonate
- (intransitive) to waver
- to undergo or cause to undergo an oscillatory or periodic process, as of an alternating current; oscillate
- (intransitive) rare to respond emotionally; thrill
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
vi•brate /ˈvaɪbreɪt/USA pronunciation
v., -brat•ed, -brat•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- 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.
vi•brate
(vī′brāt),USA pronunciation v., -brat•ed, -brat•ing.
v.i.
v.t.
vi′brat•ing•ly, adv.
v.i.
- Physicsto move rhythmically and steadily to and fro, as a pendulum;
oscillate. - to move to and fro or up and down quickly and repeatedly;
quiver;
tremble. - Physics(of sounds) to produce or have a quivering or vibratory effect;
resound. - to thrill, as in emotional response.
- to move between alternatives or extremes;
fluctuate;
vacillate.
v.t.
- to cause to move rhythmically and steadily to and fro, swing, or oscillate.
- to cause to move to and fro or up and down quickly and repeatedly;
cause to quiver or tremble. - to give forth or emit by, or as by, vibration.
- 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
- 2. See shake. 3. echo.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
vibrate /vaɪˈbreɪt/ vb
'vibrating' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
agitator
- buzz
- compliance
- flue
- flue pipe
- flutter
- hum
- hummingbird
- loudspeaker
- reed pipe
- resonance
- sound
- stop
- thrilling
- tremor
- tremulous
- vibration
- vibration white finger
- vibrator
- wiry
- zing
- bow
- cicada
- damp
- FACS
- harmonic motion
- jar
- joy buzzer
- loop
- mbira
- purr
- timbal
- tone
- tongue
- tremolant
- tremolo
- trill
- twang
- twangy
- vibrant
- vibrate
- vibratile
- vibratory
- wavy
- shimmer
- snore