Definition of: activate

(ak′tə·vāt) v.t. ·vat·ed, ·vat·ing
1. To make active.
2. To put into or make capable of action, as a military unit.
3. To make radioactive.
4. To promote or hasten chemical reactivity, as by heat or other agency.
5. To purify sewage by aeration or other means of facilitating bacterial action.
—ac′ti·va′tion noun