gravitate
verb
Rose Friedman
Did you know?
The force is strong in the family of words descended from the Latin adjective gravis, meaning “heavy”: gravitation has it, graviton has it, and gravitate has it, too. That force is gravity (gravity being another gravis descendent), a fundamental physical force that is responsible for bringing us literally back down to earth (or Tattooine, as it were). But you don’t have to be a full-fledged linguistic Jedi, young padawan, to know that gravity, like its Latin ancestor, also has figurative meanings, as does gravitate. When it first landed in the 17th century, gravitate meant “to apply pressure or weight,” and later it maintained its connection to literal gravity with a sense (still in use today) meaning “to move under the effect of gravitation.” It then, however, acquired a more general sense of “to move toward something” (such as toward a specific location), and finally a metaphorical sense of “to be attracted,” as in, “when choosing movies to watch she often gravitates toward space operas.”
Examples of gravitate in a Sentence
Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025
The queen consort, who ascended the throne in September 2022 alongside her husband King Charles III, often gravitates to brooches as a signature accessory for her attire, holding both sentimental meaning and historic significance.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 30 Oct. 2025
As the temperatures drop and the leaves change, travelers gravitate to places like Gatlinburg, Asheville, and Boone.
—Lydia Mansel, Southern Living, 29 Oct. 2025
Younger customers have been gravitating toward chewy, sweet treats – sales of sour candy, for example, grew 7% year over year, according to the National Confectioners Association.
—Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gravitate
Cite this Entry
“Gravitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gravitate. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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gravitate
verb
Medical Definition
gravitate
intransitive verb
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