educate

- definition

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

verb

/ˈedjʊkeɪt/

present tense
I/you/we/they	educate
he/she/it	educates
present participle	educating
past tense	educated
past participle	educated

Related dictionary definitions

re-educate verb

Usage note

[transitive] [often passive] to teach someone, usually for several years, especially at a school, college, or university
educate someone at something:
He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge.
More and more parents are choosing to educate their children at home.
educate someone in something:
Children were educated in both arts and sciences.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of educate
1. a.
  [intransitive/transitive] to give someone necessary or useful knowledge
  The BBC’s mission is to inform, educate, and entertain.
  educate someone about something:
  The mining museum was built to educate people about their local history.
  educate someone to do something:
  Our job is to educate young people to think about the environment.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of educate

Usage note: educate

Someone who teaches students about particular subjects, usually in a school or university, educates them: He was educated at a school in Paris. ♦ The government spends more on weapons than on educating its children.

Someone who looks after their children until the children are adults and who teaches them about life brings them up: I was brought up in the city. ♦ My parents brought me up to always tell the truth.

This is the British English definition of educate. View American English definition of educate.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

More BuzzWords

BuzzWord archive

Word of the Day

glottal stop

a sound made by stopping air as it passes through your throat. In some varieties of spoken...

Word of the Day

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

More submissions

view entries

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog