The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Inoculate \In*oc"u*late\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Inoculated; p.
   pr. & vb. n. Inoculating.] [L. inoculatus, p. p. of
   inoculare to ingraft; pref. in- in, on + oculare to furnish
   with eyes, fr. oculus an eye, also, a bud. See Ocular.]
   1. To bud; to insert, or graft, as the bud of a tree or plant
      in another tree or plant.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To insert a foreign bud into; as, to inoculate a tree.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Med.) To communicate a disease to (a person) by inserting
      infectious matter in the skin or flesh, especially as a
      means of inducing immunological resistance to that or
      related diseases; as, to inoculate a person with the virus
      of smallpox, rabies, etc. See Vaccinate.
      [1913 Webster +PJC]

   4. Fig.: To introduce into the mind; -- used especially of
      harmful ideas or principles; to imbue; as, to inoculate
      one with treason or infidelity.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. (Microbiology) To introduce microorganisms into (a growth
      medium), to cause the growth and multiplication of the
      microorganisms; as, to inoculate a fermentation vat with
      an actinomycete culture in order to produce streptomycin.
      [PJC]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

inoculating
    n 1: the act of protecting against disease by introducing a
         vaccine into the body to induce immunity; "doctors examined
         the recruits but nurses did the inoculating" [syn:
         inoculating, vaccinating]