Link Centre Dictionary

lubricate

lub·ri·cate

UK/ˈluːbrɪkeɪt/ US/ˈlubrɪˌkeɪt/ uncommon

verb

1.

have lubricating properties

  • “the liquid in this can lubricates well”
2.

apply a lubricant to

  • “lubricate my car”
Synonyms
3.

make slippery or smooth through the application of a lubricant

  • “lubricate the key”

Origin

Borrowed from Latin lūbricātus, perfect passive participle of lūbricō (“make slippery”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more), from lūbricus (“slippery”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *slewbʰ- (“slip, slide”).

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.