Word of the Day: Generate
To generate is to make or produce something, usually a product, an idea, or money.
- Their company is generating a lot of new revenue this year. (They’re making a lot of money.)
- Manufacturing generates employment for millions of workers worldwide.
- Secretary Kerry hopes the gesture of peace will generate good will among the people of the country.
- Police brutality generates a lot of hostility among people who suffer from it.
The word “generate” is often used when describing a source of energy:
- A wind mill generates electricity from the wind.
- Electricity can be generated from solar power.
- A hydroelectric plant generates electricity from the flow of water from a river or a dam.
- Electricity generated by burning coal is cheap, but it pollutes the air.
- Solar energy can generate enough power for a person’s house.
- A generator generates electricity. (A generator is a machine or a large system for producing electricity.)
The word “generation” is a noun.
- The generation of electricity from coal is not sustainable. The world needs to find cleaner sources of energy.
- The generation of knowledge from a university results in the development of new technology.
Sometimes the word “generation” refers to a group of people born within a 20 to 25-year period of time. This use of the word is quite different from the examples above.
- The baby-boom generation began in the late 1940s after World War II.
- Older people have a hard time relating to members of younger generations.
- Several generations will have to pass before the painful memories of the war (pick one) are erased.
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with G page to see the list of all words starting with letter G. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
