vibrate

/vaɪˈbɹeɪt/

//vaɪˈbɹeɪt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"vibrate" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“vibrate” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,020. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,020
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To shake with small, rapid movements to and fro.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vibrate · vibrate · English

vibrate · rank #27,020 · 10 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,020
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH ventral

Nearest frequency peer: ventral (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “vibrate”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “vibrate” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

vibrate vs Virat
57% similar
vibrate vs violate
71% similar
vibrate vs vibrato
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for vibrate
PropertyValue
Headwordvibrate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/vaɪˈbɹeɪt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#27,020
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “vibrate”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).vibratelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “ventral” (#27,019), “Vicente” (#27,021), “Vedic” (#27,018). Among 969 “V” headwords, “vibrate” is #27,020. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around vibrate (IPA /vaɪˈbɹeɪt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #27,020 among 969 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for vibrate, with forms such as "ivbrate", "vbirate", and "vibarte". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Virat", "violate", "vibrato", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The adjective (then also used as a participle) is first attested in 1420, in Middle English, the verb in 1620; partly from Middle English vibrat(e) (“reverberant”), partly directly borrowed from Latin vibrātus, perfect passive participle of vibrō (“to agita… The correct English form is vibrate, spelled V-I-B-R-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To shake with small, rapid movements to and fro.
  2. 2
    To resonate.
  3. 3
    To brandish; to swing to and fro.
  4. 4
    To mark or measure by moving to and fro.
  5. 5
    To affect with vibratory motion; to set in vibration.
  6. 6
    To please or impress someone.
  7. 7
    To use vibrato.
  8. 8
    To pleasure someone using a vibrator.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how vibrate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. When "God save the King!" resounded meow meow through the stately abbey, the banners vibrating with the mighty music, I felt quite enthusiastic in my loyalty.
  2. The tender roared along vibrating vigorously; braking had resulted in "flats" on most of its tyres.

Etymology

The adjective (then also used as a participle) is first attested in 1420, in Middle English, the verb in 1620; partly from Middle English vibrat(e) (“reverberant”), partly directly borrowed from Latin vibrātus, perfect passive participle of vibrō (“to agitate, set in tremulous motion”) (see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyp- (“to oscillate, swing”) or *weyb-.

This word in other languages

vibrar(Español)vibrer(Français)vibrieren(Deutsch)vibrar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ivbrate
  • vbirate
  • vibarte
  • vibbrate
  • vibraet
  • vibratte
  • vibrrate
  • vibrtae
  • virbate
  • vvibrate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of vibrate - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ivbrate2vbirate2vibarte2vibbrate1vibraet2vibratte1vibrrate1vibrtae2
Edit distance from "vibrate"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "vibrate"?
"vibrate" is spelled V-I-B-R-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /vaɪˈbɹeɪt/.
What does "vibrate" mean?
As a verb, "vibrate" means: To shake with small, rapid movements to and fro.
What words are commonly confused with "vibrate"?
"vibrate" is commonly confused with "Virat", "violate", "vibrato". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vibrate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vibrate" is /vaɪˈbɹeɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "vibrate"?
The adjective (then also used as a participle) is first attested in 1420, in Middle English, the verb in 1620; partly from Middle English vibrat(e) (“reverberant”), partly directly borrowed from Latin vibrātus, perfect passive participle of vibrō ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "vibrate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ventral#27,019Vicente#27,021unitary#27,014weirdly#27,026

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

where'd10 variantsunclean10 variantstortilla10 variantsthwart10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list