Meanings
present singular third person reciprocates · participle present reciprocating · participle past reciprocated · past reciprocated
- transitiveTo 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 simply couldn't accept such a gift without reciprocating.
2 more examples
I gave them apples from my tree; they reciprocated with a pie and some apple jelly.
Nugget appreciates the generosity! Nugget will reciprocate with a Monstermon card!
2019, Con Man Games, SmashGames, quoting Nugget, Kindergarten 2, SmashGames - intransitiveTo move backwards and forwards, like a piston.
a reciprocating engine
1 more example
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
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Latinrecīprocātus
- Englishreciprocate
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.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic بَادَلَ, تَبَادَلَ
- بَادَلَ (bādala)to mutually give and take something; to interchange
- تَبَادَلَ (tabādala)to give something in response
- رَدَّ (radda)to give something in response
Bulgarian разменям, отплащам се
- разменям (razmenjam)to mutually give and take something; to interchange
- отплащам се (otplaštam se)to give something in response
- отвръщам (otvrăštam)to counter, retort or retaliate
Chinese Mandarin 報答 /报答, 往復 /往复
- 報答 /报答 (bàodá)to mutually give and take something; to interchange
- 往復 /往复 (wǎngfù)to mutually give and take something; to interchange
- 回報 /回报 (huíbào)to mutually give and take something; to interchange
- 報答 /报答 (bàodá)to give something in response
Czech opětovat, oplatit
- opětovatto give something in response
- oplatitto give something in response
- oplácetto give something in response
Dutch beantwoorden
- beantwoordento give something in response
Finnish vaihtaa, vastata
- vaihtaato mutually give and take something; to interchange
- vastatato give something in response
- antaa vastalahjato give something in response
- liikkua edestakaisinto move backwards and forwards, like a piston
- kiertääto move backwards and forwards, like a piston
- vastatato counter, retort or retaliate
French donner en retour, réciproquer
- donner en retourto mutually give and take something; to interchange
- réciproquerto mutually give and take something; to interchange
- rendre la pareilleto mutually give and take something; to interchange
German erwidern, erwidern
- erwidernto give something in response
- erwidernto counter, retort or retaliate
Hungarian viszonoz, ide-oda/előre-hátra mozog/jár/leng
- viszonozto give something in response
- ide-oda/előre-hátra mozog/jár/lengto move backwards and forwards, like a piston
Italian reciprocare
- reciprocareto mutually give and take something; to interchange
Japanese 返す, 交換する
- 返す (kaesu)to mutually give and take something; to interchange
- 交換する (kōkan-suru)to mutually give and take something; to interchange
Māori kōkeke
- kōkeketo move backwards and forwards, like a piston
Portuguese reciprocar, trocar
- reciprocarto mutually give and take something; to interchange
- trocarto mutually give and take something; to interchange
- retribuirto give something in response
- alternarto move backwards and forwards, like a piston
- devolverto counter, retort or retaliate
Russian обмениваться, отвеча́ть
- обмениваться (obmenivatʹsja)to mutually give and take something; to interchange
- отвеча́ть (otvečátʹ)to mutually give and take something; to interchange
- вернуться (vernutʹsja)to give something in response
- возвращаться (vozvraščatʹsja)to give something in response
- воздавать (vozdavatʹ)to give something in response
- воздать (vozdatʹ)to give something in response
- возмещать (vozmeščatʹ)to give something in response
- возместить (vozmestitʹ)to give something in response
Spanish reciprocar, corresponder
- reciprocarto mutually give and take something; to interchange
- corresponderto mutually give and take something; to interchange
- recompensarto give something in response
Swedish återgälda
- återgäldato give something in response
Cite this entry
reciprocate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reciprocate
“reciprocate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reciprocate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “reciprocate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reciprocate.
Source: reciprocate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.