Word of the Day

: June 19, 2009

gravitate

verb GRAV-uh-tayt

What It Means

1 : to move under the influence of gravitation

2 a : to move toward something

b : to be drawn or attracted especially by natural inclination

gravitate in Context

Left to their own devices in a department store, children will naturally gravitate toward the toy aisle.

Did You Know?

English has several weighty words descended from the Latin "gravitas," meaning "weight." The first to arrive on the scene was "gravity," which appeared in the early 16th century. (Originally meaning "dignity or sobriety of bearing," it quickly came to mean "weight" as well.) Next came "gravitation" (used to describe the force of gravity) and "gravitate" -- both mid-17th century arrivals. "Gravitate" once meant "to apply weight or pressure," but that use is now obsolete. In the late 17th century, it was recorded in the sense "to move under the effect of gravitation." It then acquired a more general sense of "to move toward something" (as toward a specific location), and finally a metaphorical third sense of "to be attracted" (as toward a person or a vocation).