- to make active or capable of action
- to make radioactive
- to increase the rate of (a reaction)
- to purify (sewage) by aeration
- US to create, mobilize, or organize (a unit)
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ac•ti•vate /ˈæktəˌveɪt/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object], -vat•ed, -vat•ing.
ac•ti•va•tor, n. [countable]See -act-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to make active; cause to function or act: Pushing the switch activates the car alarm.
- Militaryto place (a military unit) on an active status:activated the national guard unit.
ac•ti•va•tor, n. [countable]See -act-.
ac•ti•vate
(ak′tə vāt′),USA pronunciation v.t., -vat•ed, -vat•ing.
ac′ti•va′tion, n.
- to make active;
cause to function or act. - Physics
- to render more reactive;
excite:to activate a molecule. - to induce radioactivity.
- to render more reactive;
- Chemistryto aerate (sewage) in order to accelerate decomposition of impure organic matter by microorganisms.
- Chemistry
- to make (carbon, a catalyst, molecules, etc.) more active.
- Chemistryto hasten (reactions) by various means, as heating.
- Militaryto place (a military unit or station) on an active status in an assigned capacity.
- active + -ate1 1620–30
- 1. . actuate, start, turn on, set going.
- 1. . stop, halt, check.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
activate /ˈæktɪˌveɪt/ vb (transitive)
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'activate' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
alarm
- arm
- automatic
- barcode
- jam
- magnetic mine
- raise
- trip
- activator
- activize
- button
- crank
- deactivate
- familial hypercholesterolemia
- gynogenesis
- key card
- kick
- reactivate
- revive
- throw
- trigger
- turn
- unshifted
- wake
- stimulate
