motivate someone

/ˈmoʊtɪveɪt ˈsʌmwʌn/

verb phrase

  1. to make someone want to do something, especially to work hard or keep trying

    B1

    transitive: motivate + person (+ to + infinitive)

    • "Her teacher motivates her to read every day."A2
    • "A good coach motivates the team to work harder."B1
    • "The chance to travel motivated him to accept the job."B2

Common mistakes

  • She motivated me doing my homework.→She motivated me to do my homework.

    Use motivate + person + to + infinitive.

Collocations

motivate employeesmotivate studentsmotivate the teammotivate someone to succeedmotivate someone to work harderhighly motivated

Word family

motivatedmotivatingmotivationmotivationalmotivatormotivate