granulate

American  

[gran-yuh-leyt] / ˈgræn jəˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

granulated, granulating

1. to form into granules or grains.

2. to raise in granules; make rough on the surface.

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verb (used without object)

granulated, granulating

1. to become granular or grainy.

2. Pathology. to form granulation tissue.

granulate British  

/ ˈɡrænjʊˌleɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to make into grains

2. to make or become roughened in surface texture

3. (intr) (of a wound, ulcer, etc) to form granulation tissue

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Other Word Forms

• granulater
  noun
• granulator
  noun
• granulative
  adjective
• multigranulated
  adjective
• nongranulated
  adjective
• ungranulated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of granulate

First recorded in 1660–70; granule + -ate ¹

Explanation

Granulate means to form or reduce into grains. You've probably seen the word on a box of granulated sugar and not thought twice about the fact that, besides its granular form, sugar exists as a liquid and also inside sugar cane. Sugar, of course, is not a grain. A grain is rice, wheat, quinoa, corn––seeds that form the basis of most people's diets. Sugar forms grains when it's refined, appearing in its crystallized form to have a grain-like, or granulated, appearance.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

granulate granulated granulating

Meanwhile, Enviroo recently secured £58m to build a new recycling facility in the north-west of England, specialising in converting PET drink bottles into a recycled granulate that can be used in food packaging.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2025

And if honey does granulate it is still perfectly fine to eat.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2023

For well owners receiving Army assistance, the long-term plans for the taxpayer-financed cleanup range from installing granulate activated filtration systems to drilling deeper wells that could tap into PFAS-free water.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 23, 2022

For the A3, 45 bottles are used, ground up to create a granulate that is turned into a polyester yarn, accounting for 89 percent of the seat material.

From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2021

Now it begins to granulate, swing it off.

From The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, May 1844 Volume 23, Number 5 by Lewis Gaylord Clark

I use a frother, and a little bit of granulated monk fruit sugar on top.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025

White granulated sugar is composed of microscopic, crystalline sucrose molecules.

From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2025

Surprisingly, sugar -- the white, granulated kind found in nearly every household -- served as an inexpensive, convenient source of carbon atoms.

From Science Daily ● May 2, 2024

Feed in the granulated sugar very slowly so as to get a completely smooth, clear light mixture.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 24, 2023

One oonful of this is more economical and far more sweetening than two of ordinary granulated Sugar.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson

The age of the patient; the sharp limitation; the well-defined, indurated film of infiltration; the peculiar, red, raw, granulating appearance; and, later, the retraction of the nipple; and, finally, the involvement of the deeper parts.

From Essentials of Diseases of the Skin Including the Syphilodermata Arranged in the Form of Questions and Answers Prepared Especially for Students of Medicine by Henry Weightman Stelwagon

Reverdin's method consists in planting out pieces of skin not bigger than a pin-head over a granulating surface.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Alexis Thomson

Where practicable, metals and alloys are best sampled by melting and granulating.

From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer

Same as White, except color Red in the basin before granulating it.

From Frye's Practical Candy Maker Comprising Practical Receipts for the Manufacture of Fine "Hand-Made" Candies by George V. Frye

Even the fluid from a blister, in virtue of the isolated cells of the rete Malpighii which it contains, is capable of starting epithelial growth on a granulating surface.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Alexis Thomson