stimulus

noun

stim·​u·​lus ˈstim-yə-ləs 

plural stimuli ˈstim-yə-ˌlī  -ˌlē 

: something that rouses or incites to activity: such as

a

: incentive

b

: stimulant sense 1

c

: an agent (such as an environmental change) that directly influences the activity of a living organism or one of its parts (as by exciting a sensory organ or evoking muscular contraction or glandular secretion)

Synonyms

• boost
• encouragement
• goad
• impetus
• impulse
• incentive
• incitation
• incitement
• instigation
• momentum
• motivation
• provocation
• spur
• stimulant
• yeast

Examples of stimulus in a Sentence

The pay raise was a stimulus for production.

Heat and light are physical stimuli.

The dog responded to the stimulus of the ringing bell.

Recent Examples on the Web

The massive stimulus spending that dulled the worst effects of COVID-19 and helped speed the recovery were also prime factors in the runaway inflation that came on the other side of the crisis. —Max Thornberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 15 Dec. 2024

Lost in all the talk around tariffs is the news that China announced a new stimulus package. —Michael Foster, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024

Despite all the stimulus money, despite all the investment in infrastructure and construction jobs, and all the support — now ended — to give people healthcare and housing assistance — the rich were simply getting richer while the average Joe or Jane was still just one paycheck away from disaster. —Peter Green, Quartz, 14 Dec. 2024

Recent economic data indicated that measures up to now have not proven sufficient to offset persisting deflationary pressure in the economy, fueling investors’ hopes that Beijing would further amp up its stimulus measures to restore growth. —Evelyn Cheng,anniek Bao, CNBC, 12 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin

First Known Use

1684, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

stimulus

noun

stim·​u·​lus ˈstim-yə-ləs 

plural stimuli -ˌlī 

-ˌlē

1

: something that rouses or stirs to action : incentive

2

: something (as an environmental change) that acts to partly change bodily activity (as by exciting a sensory organ)

heat, light, and sound are common physical stimuli

Medical Definition

stimulus

noun

stim·​u·​lus ˈstim-yə-ləs 

plural stimuli -ˌlī  -ˌlē 

1

: stimulant sense 1

2

: an agent (as an environmental change) that directly influences the activity of living protoplasm (as by exciting a sensory organ or evoking muscular contraction or glandular secretion)

a visual stimulus