Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fluoridate

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.26 in modern English

Syllables: flu-o-ri-date
IPA

14

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To add fluoride to something, especially to drinking water in order to reduce tooth decay.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Out of the 484 Utah water systems that reported data in 2024, only 66 fluoridated their water, an Associated Press analysis showed. The largest was the state’s biggest city, Salt Lake City."
"In England, about one in 10 people has fluoridated drinking water, though a programme has since been introduced to fluoridate water for 1.6 million people in north-east England."

Etymology

Back-formation from fluoridation, equivalent to fluoride + -ate.

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

fluoridates (present, singular) fluoridating (participle, present) fluoridated (participle, past) fluoridated (past)

Derived Forms

defluoridated fluoridator methylphosphonofluoridate phosphorodifluoridate unfluoridated

Frequently Paired Words

fluoridation fluoridization fluorinate fluorination

Synonyms

fluoridize fluoridise

Questions

What does fluoridate mean?: To add fluoride to something, especially to drinking water in order to reduce tooth decay.
Where does fluoridate come from?: Back-formation from fluoridation, equivalent to fluoride + -ate.

How to pronounce fluoridate

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