pasteurize

[ pas-chuh-rahyz, pas-tuh- ]
See synonyms for: pasteurizepasteurized on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),pas·teur·ized, pas·teur·iz·ing.
  1. to expose (a food, as milk, cheese, yogurt, beer, or wine) to an elevated temperature for a period of time sufficient to destroy certain microorganisms, as those that can produce disease or cause spoilage or undesirable fermentation of food, without radically altering taste or quality.

Origin of pasteurize

1
First recorded in 1880–85; Pasteur + -ize
  • Also especially British, pas·teur·ise .

Other words from pasteurize

  • pas·teur·i·za·tion, noun
  • su·per·pas·teur·ized, adjective
  • ul·tra·pas·teur·ized, adjective
  • un·pas·teur·ized, adjective

Words Nearby pasteurize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pasteurize in a sentence

  • Unless the milk is perfectly fresh, and has been handled with great care, it is safer to sterilize or pasteurize it.

British Dictionary definitions for pasteurize

pasteurize

pasteurise

/ (ˈpæstəˌraɪz, -stjə-, ˈpɑː-) /


verb(tr)
  1. to subject (milk, beer, etc) to pasteurization

  2. rare to subject (a patient) to pasteurism

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012