comminute

[kom-uh-noot, -nyoot]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR comminute ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), com·mi·nut·ed, com·mi·nut·ing.

to pulverize; triturate.

adjective

comminuted; divided into small parts.

powdered; pulverized.

Origin of comminute

1620–30; < Latin comminūtus, past participle of comminuere, equivalent to com- com- + minuere to lessen, akin to minor minor

Related formscom·mi·nu·tion, nounun·com·mi·nut·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for comminute

grate, shatter, crumble, beat, bruise, squash, mash, break, trample, squeeze, pulverize, reduce, scrape, pound, crush, powder, granulate, press, pummel, wallop

Examples from the Web for comminute

Historical Examples of comminute

Likewise the double teeth or grinders, either drop out, or rot away; so as now to be too few remaining to comminute solid food.
Medica Sacra
Richard Mead
That the stomach is fully able to comminute the food may be proved by the following calculation.
The Evolution of Modern Medicine
William Osler

British Dictionary definitions for comminute

comminute

verb

to break (a bone) into several small fragments

to divide (property) into small lots

(tr) to pulverize

Derived Formscomminution, noun

Word Origin for comminute

C17: from Latin comminuere, from com- (intensive) + minuere to reduce; related to minor

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

Word Origin and History for comminute

1620s, from Latin comminutus, past participle of comminuere "to lessen, break into smaller parts," from com- "together" (see com-) + minuere "to make smaller" (see minus). Related: Comminuted; comminuting.

comminute in Medicine

comminute

[kŏm′ə-nōōt′]

v.

To reduce to powder; to pulverize.

Related formscom′mi•nu′tion n.