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

The update comes days after Texas announced the outbreak’s first death – a school-aged child who was not vaccinated and had been hospitalized in Lubbock. —Neha Mukherjee, CNN, 28 Feb. 2025

Health officials have been urging anyone who isn't vaccinated to receive the MMR vaccine. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 28 Feb. 2025

This is why experts stress the importance of getting vaccinated against measles, especially as more cases have surfaced in recent years. —Kristina Behr, Parents, 27 Feb. 2025

Pets are available first come, first served and will have been spayed/neutered, microchipped and vaccinated. —Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2025

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