# vibrate

> English word · Verb · IPA /vaɪˈbɹeɪt/ · frequency rank #27,020

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

## 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-.

## Easily confused with
- **Virat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vibrate-vs-virat)
- **violate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vibrate-vs-violate)
- **vibrato** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vibrate-vs-vibrato)
- **vibrator** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vibrate-vs-vibrator)
- **vibrant** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vibrant-vs-vibrate)

## Common misspellings (10)
`ivbrate`, `vbirate`, `vibarte`, `vibbrate`, `vibraet`, `vibratte`, `vibrrate`, `vibrtae`, `virbate`, `vvibrate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/vibrate