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comminute

[kom-uh-noot, -nyoot]
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verb (used with object), com·mi·nut·ed, com·mi·nut·ing.

to pulverize; triturate.

adjective

comminuted; divided into small parts.
powdered; pulverized.

RELATED WORDS

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

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

Examples from the Web for comminuted

Historical Examples of comminuted

British Dictionary definitions for comminuted

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 comminuted

comminute

v.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for comminuted

comminuted

[kŏm′ə-nōō′tĭd]

adj.

Broken into fragments. Used of a fractured bone.

comminute

[kŏm′ə-nōōt′]

v.

To reduce to powder; to pulverize.
Related formscom′mi•nu′tion n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.