reciprocate
Syllables: re·ci·pro·cate/ɹɪˈsɪpɹəˌkeɪt/
reciprocate verb: to exchange two things, with both parties giving one thing and taking another thing.
Verb
reciprocate (third-person singular simple present reciprocates, present participle reciprocating, simple past and past participle reciprocated)
- To exchange two things, with both parties giving one thing and taking another thing.
- The USTR isn't reciprocating actual tariffs. It's just placing the biggest tariffs on the countries running the biggest trade surpluses.2025 April 3, Felix Salmon, “How to read the White House's tariff formula”, in Axios
- To give something else in response (where the "thing" may also be abstract, a feeling or action) To make a reciprocal gift.
- I gave them apples from my tree; they reciprocated with a pie and some apple jelly.
- I simply couldn't accept such a gift without reciprocating.
- To move backwards and forwards, like a piston.
- a reciprocating engine
- One brawny smith the puffing bellows plies, / And draws and blows reciprocating air.1697, Virgil, “The Fourth Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
- To counter, retort or retaliate.
reciprocate meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada
reciprocate in Tamil
- எதிருரை பேணு, பரஸ்பர ஏற்பாடு, ஒத்துக்கொள்
reciprocate in Urdu
- جواب دینا
reciprocate in Malayalam
- അന്യോന്യവിനിമയം നടത്തുക, അങ്ങോട്ടുമിങ്ങോട്ടും പകരം ചെയ്യുക
reciprocate in Kannada
- ಹಿಂದಿರುಗಿಸು, ಕೊಡುಕೊಳ್ಳು, ಮುಂದೂ ಹಿಂದೂ ಓಡು
More languagesFewer languages
- reciprocate in Arabic
- بَادَلَ bādala, تَبَادَلَ tabādala, رَدَّ radda
Examples of reciprocate in a sentence
- And worse, how do you make sure your kid does not reciprocate?
- While making small talk with the audience, Demi's greetings were reciprocated with loud screams from the Lovatics.
- If necessary, cut the old saddle in two using a reciprocating saw, then pry out the saddle.
Synonyms of reciprocate
- give as good as one gets
- respond in kind
Forms of reciprocate
| third-person singular present | reciprocates |
|---|---|
| present participle | reciprocating |
| past participle | reciprocated |
| past | reciprocated |
Origin of reciprocate
From Latin recīprocātus, perfect passive participle of recīprocō (“to move back and forth”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from reciprocus (“back an forth, reciprocal, alternating”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix), itself possibly from a phrase such as reque proque (“back and forth”), from re- (“back”), prō (“forwards”) and -que (“and”). See also reciprocal. Compare French réciproquer.
Words formed from reciprocate
Questions about reciprocate
- What does reciprocate mean?
- Reciprocate means to exchange two things, with both parties giving one thing and taking another thing.
- What is reciprocate in Tamil?
- Reciprocate in Tamil is எதிருரை பேணு, பரஸ்பர ஏற்பாடு, ஒத்துக்கொள். See Reciprocate meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is reciprocate?
- Reciprocate is a verb.
- How do you pronounce reciprocate?
- Reciprocate is pronounced /ɹɪˈsɪpɹəˌkeɪt/.
- What is the past tense of reciprocate?
- The past tense of reciprocate is reciprocated.
Words near reciprocate in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: reciprocate (page history and authors); reciprocate (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); reciprocate (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); reciprocate (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); reciprocate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-reciprocate.ogg.
Cite this entry: “reciprocate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/reciprocate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.