vibratevi‧brate /vaɪˈbreɪt $ ˈvaɪbreɪt/ ●○○ verb [intransitive, transitive] 
Word Origin Examples
The floor was vibrating to the beat of the music. As air passes over our vocal cords, it makes them vibrate.
Word OriginWORD ORIGINvibrate
Verb TableOrigin:
1600-1700 Latin past participle of vibrare ‘to shake’VERB TABLE
vibrate
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | vibrate |
| he, she, it | vibrates | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | vibrated |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have vibrated |
| he, she, it | has vibrated | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had vibrated |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will vibrate |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have vibrated |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am vibrating |
| he, she, it | is vibrating | |
| you, we, they | are vibrating | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was vibrating |
| you, we, they | were vibrating | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been vibrating |
| he, she, it | has been vibrating | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been vibrating |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be vibrating |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been vibrating |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Everything in the room was vibrating to the beat of the drum.
- Some insects' wings vibrate so fast that the movement is invisible to the human eye.
- Strings vibrate more quickly if they are short and thin.
- Delaney's bomb had shaken through the ship, vibrating the steel like a tuning fork.
- Immediately, she felt the floor vibrate as the dome rumbled shut, sealing the chamber.
- Nervous trembles ached in her legs and the floor was vibrating fractionally with the movement of some train deep underground.
- The steering wheel vibrated, but I gripped it hard.
- The strings vibrate again, underscoring my panic.
THESAURUSobject/vehicle/the ground etc► shake
if something vibrates, or if you vibrate it, it shakes quickly and continuously with very small movements: to move suddenly from side to side or up and down, usually with a lot of force: · The floor shook from a distant explosion.· The walls were still shaking.· The trees were shaking in the wind.
► rattle to shake and make a noise: · The windows rattled in the wind.· The train was rattling over the bridge.
► vibrate to shake continuously with small fast movements: · The music was so loud that the whole room vibrated.· The atoms vibrate at different frequencies.
► wobble to move unsteadily from side to side: · The bike began to wobble alarmingly as she fought to control it.· The cup wobbled and he grabbed it to stop it from falling.
► rock to move gently backwards and forwards or from side to side: · The trailer rocked in the wind.· The boat was rocking from side to side with the waves.
► shudder (also judder especially British English) if a vehicle or machine shudders, it shakes for a short time.: · The lift shuddered then began to descend.· The engine shuddered into life (=it shook and then started working).· The car juddered to a halt (=it shook and then stopped) outside the house.
Longman Language Activatorwhen things shake► shake if something shakes , it makes very small quick movements from side to side or up and down: · Ed was playing his music so loud that the whole house shook.· Suddenly the ground beneath my feet began to shake.· The car slowed down, shook for a moment and then stopped.
► rattle to shake and repeatedly hit against something else, making a continuous noise: · The windows were rattling in the wind.· I woke up to the sound of cups and plates rattling, and knew that Dad was already up.
► wobble if something wobbles , it moves from side to side because it is not steady or not well balanced: · The chair wobbled under her weight and then fell over.· Jerry came in carrying a tray of glasses that were wobbling alarmingly.
► vibrate to shake continuously with very small, very fast movements, for example because of the effects of a very loud noise: · Some insects' wings vibrate so fast that the movement is invisible to the human eye.vibrate to: · Everything in the room was vibrating to the beat of the drum.
► shudder if something such as a piece of machinery or a vehicle shudders , it shakes uncontrollably with very small movements: · Our house was so close to the railway that you could feel it shudder every time a train went by.shudder to a halt (=shake a lot and then stop): · The train shuddered to a halt at the station.
► judder especially British if something judders , it shakes with small, quick movements, especially because something is stopping it moving freely or smoothly: · Jackson took his Land Rover off the track and it juddered over 15 metres of grass.· The elevator doors juddered open when we reached the fifth floor.judder to a halt (=shake a lot and then stop): · Something was obviously wrong with the car and eventually it just juddered to a halt.
► jolt to move up and down or from side to side with sudden large movements - use this especially about a vehicle or machine that is not working well or moving smoothly: · Our coach jolted and stopped. Then it started again.jolt along/over/through etc: · He ran down the hill, the backpack jolting from side to side on his back.jolt to a halt/stop: · Everyone was alarmed when the elevator jolted to a halt.
The floor was vibrating to the beat of the music. As air passes over our vocal cords, it makes them vibrate.