Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: Latin
Origin: , past participle of stimulare, from stimulus; STIMULUS

stimulate

 verb
     
Related topics: Biology
stim‧u‧late [transitive]
1 to encourage or help an activity to begin or develop further
stimulate growth/demand/the economy etc
the President's plan to stimulate economic growth
2 to encourage someone by making them excited about and interested in something:
Her interest in art was stimulated by her father.
stimulate somebody to do something
An inspiring teacher can stimulate students to succeed.
3HB to make a plant or part of the body become active or stronger:
Light stimulates plant growth.
—stimulative adjective
—stimulation noun [uncountable]
Children need variety and stimulation.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary