verb Uncommon

excite

ihk-SYT

Excite (verb) means to stir up strong feelings in someone, especially enthusiasm or eagerness. Example: “The trailer excited fans months before the film came out.”

verb

To stir up strong feelings in someone, especially enthusiasm or eagerness.

"The trailer excited fans months before the film came out."

"Good news like that excites everyone in the office."

In physics, to push an electron up to a higher energy level, or to energize a magnet so it produces a field.

"A laser can excite electrons in the atoms it strikes."

How to use excite

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo get someone worked up (in a good way) or, in science, to bump something up to a higher energy state.

Common pairings

excite interest excite an electron excite the crowd

Word forms

excited past tense, excite plural, excited plural, excites singular, excite singular, excited singular, excitest singular, excitedst singular, exciteth singular

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The trailer _____ fans months before the film came out.

Etymology

From Old French exciter, from Latin excitare, "to call forth or rouse" — from ex ("out") plus ciere ("to set in motion").

Origin: Latin

Rhymes for excite

rite bite lite kite cite mite site white write trite smite quite

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Frequently asked questions

What does “excite” mean?

The word “excite” means to stir up strong feelings in someone, especially enthusiasm or eagerness. In plain terms, to get someone worked up (in a good way) or, in science, to bump something up to a higher energy state.

How do you pronounce “excite”?

“Excite” is pronounced ihk-SYT (/ɪkˈsaɪt/ in IPA).

How do you use “excite” in a sentence?

Here is “excite” used in a sentence: “The trailer excited fans months before the film came out.”

What part of speech is “excite”?

“Excite” is a verb.

Where does the word “excite” come from?

The word “excite” comes from Latin. From Old French exciter, from Latin excitare, "to call forth or rouse" — from ex ("out") plus ciere ("to set in motion").

Is “excite” a common word?

“Excite” is an uncommon word in modern English.

How many meanings does “excite” have?

“Excite” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to stir up strong feelings in someone, especially enthusiasm or eagerness.