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saturate

Syllabification: (sat·u·rate)
Translate saturate | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of saturate

verb

Pronunciation: /ˈsaCHəˌrāt/
[with object]
  • cause (something) to become thoroughly soaked with liquid so that no more can be absorbed:the soil is saturated
  • cause (a substance) to combine with, dissolve, or hold the greatest possible quantity of another substance:the groundwater is saturated with calcium hydroxide
  • magnetize or charge (a substance or device) fully.
  • Electronics put (a device) into a state in which no further increase in current is achievable.
  • (usually be saturated with) fill (something or someone) with something until no more can be held or absorbed:they’ve become thoroughly saturated with powerful and seductive messages from the media
  • supply (a market) beyond the point at which the demand for a product is satisfied:Japan’s electronics industry began to saturate the world markets
  • overwhelm (an enemy target area) by concentrated bombing.

noun

Pronunciation: /-rət/
(usually saturates)
  • a saturated fat.

adjective

Pronunciation: /-rət/
literary
  • saturated with moisture.

Derivatives

saturable

Pronunciation: /-əbəl/
adjective
( technical)

Origin:

late Middle English (as an adjective in the sense 'satisfied'): from Latin saturat- 'filled, glutted', from the verb saturare, from satur 'full'. The early sense of the verb (mid 16th century) was 'satisfy'; the noun dates from the 1950s

saturate in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of saturate in the British & World English dictionary
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