1. to nod or rock back and forth
Usage: technical; botany; astronomy
2. to exhibit nutation, a periodic variation in the orientation of a rotating object’s axis
Usage: physics; astronomy

Examples

• The Earth’s axis nutates slightly as it rotates.
• The plant’s growing tip began to nutate as it searched for light.
• Astronomers observed the star nutating in its orbital motion.
• The spinning top started to nutate before falling over.
• The satellite’s antenna nutated due to gravitational forces.
• Scientists measured how the planet’s pole nutates over time.