gravitate
verb
Rose Friedman
Did you know?
The force is strong in the family of words descended from the Latin adjective gravis, meaning “heavy”: gravitation has it, graviton has it, and gravitate has it, too. That force is gravity (gravity being another gravis descendent), a fundamental physical force that is responsible for bringing us literally back down to earth (or Tattooine, as it were). But you don’t have to be a full-fledged linguistic Jedi, young padawan, to know that gravity, like its Latin ancestor, also has figurative meanings, as does gravitate. When it first landed in the 17th century, gravitate meant “to apply pressure or weight,” and later it maintained its connection to literal gravity with a sense (still in use today) meaning “to move under the effect of gravitation.” It then, however, acquired a more general sense of “to move toward something” (such as toward a specific location), and finally a metaphorical sense of “to be attracted,” as in, “when choosing movies to watch she often gravitates toward space operas.”
Examples of gravitate in a Sentence
Melody Wilding, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Some minds naturally gravitate toward structure and planning, while others thrive on spontaneity and discovery.
—Jd Barker, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2025
As for her accessories, Queen Letizia went minimalist, gravitating toward a quiet luxury sensibility.
—Julia Teti, WWD, 21 Feb. 2025
Given that there is no onus on them to force the issue and score, Carlo Ancelotti’s team tactics will likely gravitate around absorbing pressure and picking Man City off on the counter.
—Sam Tighe, The Athletic, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gravitate
Cite this Entry
“Gravitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gravitate. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gravitate
verb
Medical Definition
gravitate
intransitive verb
Share