What does germinate mean?
Word: Germinate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Germinate means to start growing into a new plant, as a seed does.
How do you spell germinate?
Syllables: ger - mi - nate
Tricky part: It starts with a j sound, but there is no j in it. That sound is spelt with a soft g.
Watch out for: jerminate, germinat
Memory tip: Say this to yourself: gentle giraffes watch seeds germinate. Every g at the start of those words is soft and sounds like j.
Germinate in a sentence
Example 1: We kept moong seeds on wet cotton and watched them germinate in two days.
Example 2: The gardener soaked the peas overnight so that they would germinate faster.
Example 3: Riya's sunflower seeds began to germinate a week after she planted them.
Fun Fact
It comes from the Latin germen, meaning a bud or shoot. The same root gives us wheat germ, the tiny part of a wheat grain that can grow into a new plant.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
After the first summer shower, the grass seeds on the school field started to germenate.
a) field
b) germenate
c) summer
d) shower
Show answer
b) germenate. The middle part is mi, as in mint.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
mneegitar
a) germinate
b) generate
c) terminate
d) marinate
Show answer
a) germinate. Generate has no i or m, and terminate and marinate have no g, so only one option matches the jumble.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word:
germinate
a) wither
b) sprout
c) harvest
d) scatter
Show answer
b) sprout. A seed that germinates starts to sprout; wither is nearly the opposite.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) germinate
b) moistur
c) polen
d) nutriant
Show answer
a) germinate. Pollen has lost one of its two l's, and nutrient and moisture have the wrong endings.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A seed will germinate best in ____.
a) a sealed jar with no air
b) a plastic bag in the freezer
c) damp soil in a warm place
d) a dry shelf in a cold room
Show answer
c) damp soil in a warm place
2. When a bean seed germinates, what usually appears first?
a) a ripe bean
b) a bright flower
c) a hard new seed
d) a tiny root
Show answer
d) a tiny root
