Word Of The Day

inoculate

inoculate • \ih-NAHK-yuh-layt\  • verb
To inoculate a person or animal is to introduce immunologically active material (such as an antibody or antigen) into them especially in order to treat or prevent a disease. Inoculate can also mean "to introduce (something, such as a microorganism) into a suitable situation for growth," and in figurative use, it can mean "to protect as if by inoculation" or "to introduce something into the mind of."

// In 1796, the English physician Edward Jenner discovered that inoculating people with cowpox could provide immunity against smallpox.

// The cheese is inoculated with a starter culture to promote fermentation.

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Examples:
"Truffle farmers ... inoculate oak or hazelnut seedlings with truffle spores, plant the seedlings and wait patiently often a decade or more for the underground relationship to mature. The eventual harvest is a reward for years of cooperation between tree and fungus." — David Shubin, The Weekly Calistogan (Calistoga, California), 30 Oct. 2025

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