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Definition of "reciprocate" []

  • To give or take mutually; interchange. (verb-transitive)
  • To show, feel, or give in response or return. (verb-transitive)
  • To move back and forth alternately. (verb-intransitive)
  • To give and take something mutually. (verb-intransitive)
  • To make a return for something given or done. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "reciprocate" in a sentence
  • "HARRY LEWIS: There's a-the latest Facebook craze is "25 Random Things About Me," where you're supposed to put twenty-five facts about yourself and then you send it to twenty-five people and ask them to reciprocate, which is a wonderful marketing ploy for Facebook, of course, because if you don't have a Facebook account, of course, you want to sign up and get one, so that you too can share twenty-five random things about yourself."
  • "Providing for others who never add to your reciprocate is the same as throwing it away."
  • "But he said Cuba has to "reciprocate" gestures made by US President Barack Obama in the lead up to the gathering of 33 leaders of Latin American and Caribbean nations, which excluded Cuba."