vaccinate

verb

vac·​ci·​nate ˈvak-sə-ˌnāt 

vaccinated; vaccinating

transitive verb

: to administer a vaccine to usually by injection

intransitive verb

: to perform or practice vaccination

vaccinator

ˈvak-sə-ˌnā-tər 

noun

Examples of vaccinate in a Sentence

We vaccinate all the animals that come to our shelter.

Recent Examples on the Web

That means, vaccinated people in those groups were 34.5% less likely than unvaccinated people to get sick enough to go to the hospital. —Alexander Tin, CBS News, 3 Oct. 2024

All rabbits available at Marin Humane have been spayed or neutered and vaccinated. —Lisa Bloch, The Mercury News, 1 Oct. 2024

About 80% of the kids that died from flu this season were not fully vaccinated against influenza, CDC data shows. —Youri Benadjaoud, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2024

Be sure to vaccinate your puppy and keep its distemper vaccinations up-to-date, the American Kennel Club recommends. —Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 28 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "to inoculate with fluid from a cowpox pustule," back-formation from vaccination; in later extended sense, in part borrowed from French vacciner, verbal derivative of vaccin vaccine

First Known Use

1882, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

vaccinate

verb

vac·​ci·​nate ˈvak-sə-ˌnāt 

vaccinated; vaccinating

: to give a vaccine to usually by injection

vaccinator

-ˌnāt-ər 

noun

Medical Definition

vaccinate

1 of 2 verb

vac·​ci·​nate ˈvak-sə-ˌnāt 

vaccinated; vaccinating

transitive verb

1

: to inoculate (a person) with cowpox virus in order to produce immunity to smallpox

2

: to administer a vaccine to usually by injection

intransitive verb

: to perform or practice vaccination

vaccinate

2 of 2 noun

vac·​ci·​nate ˈvak-sə-ˌnāt  -nət 

: a vaccinated individual