salivate

verb

sal·​i·​vate ˈsa-lə-ˌvāt 

salivated; salivating

intransitive verb

1

: to have a flow of saliva especially in excess

2

: to show great desire or anticipation : drool

salivation

ˌsa-lə-ˈvā-shən 

noun

salivator

ˈsa-lə-ˌvā-tər 

noun

Synonyms

• dribble
• drivel
• drool
• slaver
• slobber

Examples of salivate in a Sentence

The smell alone was enough to make me salivate.

She was salivating at the prospect of traveling to Europe.

Recent Examples on the Web

Lina Khan will soon be gone as chair of the Federal Trade Commission, and M&A dealmakers are salivating. —Melvin Backman, Quartz, 15 Nov. 2024

But nothing gets Survivor nerds salivating more than individual immunity stats. —Dalton Ross, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024

Celebrate the star getting older and finer every day by salivating looking over a bevy of images of him being effortlessly gorgeous. —Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 14 Sep. 2024

Purchasing champions and forging new ones seems perfectly suited to take advantage of the kind of microtransaction activity gaming companies salivate over. —Ash Parrish, The Verge, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1706, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

salivate

verb

sal·​i·​vate ˈsal-ə-ˌvāt 

salivated; salivating

: to produce or secrete saliva especially in large amounts

salivation

ˌsal-ə-ˈvā-shən 

noun

Medical Definition

salivate

verb

sal·​i·​vate ˈsal-ə-ˌvāt 

salivated; salivating

transitive verb

: to produce an abnormal flow of saliva in (as by the use of mercury)

intransitive verb

: to have a flow of saliva especially in excess