US /ˈsæləveɪt/ UK /ˈsælɪveɪt/
verb Freq #74524

Meanings

  1. 1
    verb

    To produce saliva in your mouth, especially at the thought or smell of food.

    The smell of fresh bread made everyone start to salivate.

  2. 2
    verb

    To show eager excitement about something you really want.

    Fans have been salivating over the new smartphone for weeks.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
2 verb · to show eager excitement... drool
Word family
Forms salivatedsalivatessalivating
Derived forms desalivatehypersalivatesalivatinglysalivatorunsalivated
Related forms droolsalivasalivarysalivation

Etymology

From Latin salivatus, past participle of salivare (“to spit out, also salivate”), from saliva (“spittle”).

Topics

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