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

After it has been left for a few days to granulate, holes in the bottom of the jars are unstopped, and the molasses drains off into vessels placed to receive it.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 561, October 2, 1886 by Various

The company, Irvine-based Ventura Foods, recalled 3,556 cases of the dressing that could be contaminated by “black plastic planting material” in the granulated onion used, according to an alert issued by the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2025

Most bakers reach for powdered sugar, but I’ll admit: I like the slight texture of granulated sugar.

From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2025

"The pretence is that baled tyres are being sent to India and then shredded and granulated in a factory very similar to ours," explains Mr Mason.

From BBC ● 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

Back then the only things Mama purchased from the store were coffee beans, granulated sugar, salt, and pepper.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

It is difficult, if not impossible, to so conduct them as to avoid opening up afresh recent granulating wounds.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

The Bureau having adopted a new system of granulating Navy powder, the different classes will in future be known and designated as Rifle, Cannon, and Musket.

From Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy. 1866. Fourth edition. by United States. Navy Dept. Bureau of Ordnance

In the treatment of epistaxis or bleeding from the nose, of hæmorrhage from the socket of a tooth, and sometimes from ulcerating or granulating surfaces, however, they may be useful.

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

It is principally from the starch of the bitter cassava that tapioca is prepared by elutriation and granulating on hot plates.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds

The separate muscular layers were sharply defined in the lateral parts of the floor of the wound, and remained so for some time during the gradual contraction of the large granulating surface produced.

From Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900 Being Mainly a Clinical Study of the Nature and Effects of Injuries Produced by Bullets of Small Calibre by George Henry Makins